


Shield You From The Waves

by ScienceFantasy93



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Annabeth and Piper are BAMFs, College AU, Demigod AU, Everything's kind of a mess but they're dealing, F/F, F/M, Frank and Hazel are mortal too, Jason's been turned into a minor god, Lots of monsters, M/M, Percy is mortal but can see through The Mist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:13:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23624407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScienceFantasy93/pseuds/ScienceFantasy93
Summary: Annabeth smiles. Suddenly she’s glad that Piper is off helping the mortals. Coffeeshop Boy doesn’t seem too opposed to spending more time with her, even though she nearly got him killed five minutes ago. And this is the best thing to happen all day. “What’s your name?”“Percy. And you’re Annabeth, right?”“Right,” she says with an enthusiastic nod.“So, do you think I could possibly get your number?”Or: Annabeth gets help fighting monsters from the cute boy who works at the coffee shop. It turns out that not only does he know about monsters, but he can see through The Mist.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Calypso/Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Nico di Angelo & Will Solace, Thalia Grace/Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano
Comments: 36
Kudos: 203





	1. This Whole Damn City Thinks It Needs You

**Author's Note:**

> The title and the chapter title comes from Fall Out Boy's song "Last of the Real Ones". I felt it was an appropriate song for this fic. I've had this idea circling around in my head for awhile - the idea that Percy is just a regular mortal who happens to meet Annabeth, who's a badass demigod. As a result, parts of this world are canon, or somewhat canon, but most of it is not. Annabeth and Piper are in college together, and fighting monsters part time. Percy is a regular mortal for all intents and purposes, but he can see through The Mist. 
> 
> Enjoy! :)

The latest end of the world starts like this:  
  
Annabeth is standing in line in a coffee shop on her college campus, doing her damndest to pretend that everything’s fine, everything’s good, why wouldn’t it be? This is hers and Piper’s rendezvous meeting point every time they have to go fight monsters, or save the world, or whatever, after class. It’s a good kick-off point – they get their dose of caffeine, grab a bite to eat, and relax for a bit before they have to go risk their lives for the good of mankind, yadda, yadda, yadda.  
  
Frankly, the whole spiel is starting to get a bit exhausting. Annabeth has been risking her life for the good of mankind since she was 7, when she ran away from home. Piper has been fighting monsters since she was 10, when a minotaur managed to get admitted into her dad’s super-high security neighborhood and proceeded to start smashing up all the luxury cars. Piper swears she still can’t look at a BMW and not see the minotaur wearing it as a necklace.  
  
The line in the coffee shop is moving steadily, and before long it’s Annabeth’s turn to order. She rattles off her usual – large iced espresso with two extra shots and a splash of mocha syrup. Oh, and a turkey and cheese sandwich. She considers ordering for Piper, but Piper changes her order every single time they come here. With Annabeth’s luck, she’ll get Piper a frappe when Piper really wants an Americano. Or worse, Piper will be on a health kick and decide to just go with unsweetened iced tea. It’s happened often enough that Annabeth doesn’t put anything past Piper. She also no longer orders for her when she’s running late.  
  
“Will there be anything else?” the boy behind the counter asks, and Annabeth looks up from her wallet. As a rule of thumb, Annabeth doesn’t usually refer to boys as beautiful, but this one makes the cut. His eyes are the color of the sea on a stormy day, and his black hair is messy, but the kind of messy that makes you want to run your fingers through it while sitting in his lap and kissing him slowly – and yeah, she really needs to eat, because clearly she’s experiencing a huge drop in blood sugar levels. But still, those cheekbones could cut glass, and his lashes are ridiculously long. It’s not fair, but Annabeth learned a long time ago that nothing is fair, everything sucks, life’s a bitch and then the gods decide that once you die, they can pass more responsibility onto you by making you a minor god. Not that Annabeth knows anyone that’s happened to, or anything like that. Fuck, why doesn’t she know anyone _normal_?  
  
Annabeth shakes her head. “No. No thanks. That’s it.”  
  
He gives her the total, and Annabeth sticks her debit card into the card reader. She wants to say something to this boy, _anything_ really. Maybe it’s just because she knows the rest of her day is going to suck, and she’d like to get something positive out of it. Maybe it’s because she knows she might be dead by this evening, and she’d like to leave her mark somewhere. She doesn’t know the actual reason, and she’s not about to start self-analyzing when she’ll be going into battle within an hour or so.  
  
The card reader is slow as fuck, but that’s normal for any card reader on campus. And so Annabeth uses the opportunity to ask the boy how his day is going. It’s nothing earth shattering, but right now it’s about all she can manage.  
  
“Oh, you know,” he says with the kind of smirk that can’t be taught, “another day in paradise. How about you?”  
  
“Oh, you know,” Annabeth says back with a small laugh, “just normal stuff.”  
  
He nods like he gets it, but Annabeth knows he doesn’t. No one but another demigod can possibly get it, and somehow she doesn’t think this boy is a demigod. She can usually spot them a mile away, generally due to the monsters hot on their trail.  
  
“Can I get a name for your order?” the boy asks her as the card reader finally beeps, and Annabeth pulls her card out.  
  
“Annabeth.”  
  
“A N N A B E T H?”  
  
“That’s right.”  
  
“I don’t hear that name too often. It’s pretty, though.” He grabs a large cup and scribbles her name on it, before plucking her sandwich out of the temperature-controlled case from under the counter.  
  
Annabeth knows she’s blushing. She can feel her cheeks heating up like she’s been out in the sun too long, and all she can think of is that she hopes her freckles aren’t being thrown into relief. “Thanks,” she manages to get out. “I guess it’s okay. I always feel like it’s the kind of name that, like, cheerleaders have. The popular girls, you know?”  
  
The boy smiles a little. “I think it suits you. It’s kind of classy.” He passes her sandwich over and tells her that her drink will be up in a moment. Annabeth digs through her wallet and finds a couple of singles. It’s not much, but he’s nice and cute and as far as she’s concerned, if she can make his day a little better, then so be it. She drops the bills into the tip jar and walks off to the pickup counter, where her drink has just appeared. She finds an empty corner table, and not two seconds after she sits down Piper blows in, looking very annoyed. Annabeth figures this means that Piper just got out of her philosophy class. The class is held on the other side of campus, and the professor thinks that having a doctorate in philosophy automatically makes him the smartest person in the world. Piper hates him, but it fills a requirement she needs for her degree, so she puts up with it. Barely.  
  
Piper is able to make it through the line a little bit faster than Annabeth, and she doesn’t stop to talk to the boy behind the counter. Annabeth knows this, because she watched Piper to see if she tried to flirt with the boy. Ever since her boyfriend died and got made a god, Piper has been on a serious rebound. Not that Annabeth can blame her. Between mourning Jason and being pissed that, once again, the gods have meddled in her life and ruined any chance that Jason had for peace, Piper has good reason for acting out. Though Annabeth has to admit, so far Jason had been way more helpful than any of the other gods. At least Jason pops in once a week, says hi, asks if they have any questions or concerns about the monsters they’re chasing down. Last week he showed up with a survey for them to fill out so he could figure out how he could better serve them. Even Piper has been forced to admit that Jason takes his role as minor god of the hunt seriously. He’s not up to Artemis’s level by any stretch of the imagination and he’s not meant to be. But when Artemis and her hunters are too busy to track down a rogue monster, it’s Jason’s job to go after it. In some ways, he’s a bit of a bounty hunter for the gods, which just pisses Piper off even more, because that was sort of what he was while he was mortal. And it sure as hell didn’t do him any favors.  
  
Piper slumps down in the seat across from Annabeth, clutching what appears to be an iced latte and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “This whole week is complete, utter shit,” she states, before taking a huge bite of her sandwich. “I’m almost looking forward to kicking some monster ass.”  
  
“Glad to hear it, because that’s what we’re going to be doing in about an hour.”  
  
Piper washes her sandwich down with her latte. “What kind of monster is it?”  
  
Annabeth checks the notes on her phone and groans. “Two women with snakes coming out of their heads, and they also have tusks and claws. Oh, and they also keep offering to sign people up for life insurance.”  
  
“Great,” Piper rolls her eyes. “Gorgons working the insurance biz. That’s just what the world needs.” She wipes her fingers on a napkin. “Where exactly are they peddling life insurance?  
  
“They’ve been hanging out on the A train going from Blue Ridge to New York City.”  
  
“Why the hell are they hanging out on a train? Are they attacking regular mortals?”  
  
Annabeth can understand Piper’s confusion and concern. Up until a couple years ago, monsters generally left average mortals alone. The only ones they went after were demigods. But after the Triumvirate attempted to take over the world, the monsters decided that they weren’t getting paid enough to just target demigods. They began attacking mortals – not so much that it’s, like, a thing, but enough that it’s noticeable. And that’s where Annabeth and Piper come in. They’ve been given the task of tracking down the monsters harassing regular mortals. They’ve been all over most of upstate New York, and through what feels like the whole of New York City. They even once ended up on a yacht cruising around the Atlantic Ocean because the guy who owned the yacht had accidentally gotten engaged to a succubus. That had been an awkward conversation after Piper stabbed the monster through the chest and Annabeth sliced the thing’s head off. Annabeth is pretty sure she can still hear the screaming from the other passengers aboard the yacht. The echoes still ring in her ears.  
  
“They’re trying to attack people, though so far they haven’t had much luck,” Annabeth explains, still looking at the notes she’d imputed during her conversation with Chiron the evening before.  
  
Piper snorts. “No wonder. It’s just Stheno and Eurayle?”  
  
“Yeah, Medusa hasn’t surfaced since we killed her eight years ago.”  
  
“Thank fuck for small miracles.”  
  
“But these two dipshits refuse to stay dead,” Annabeth growls. “I’m getting really fucking tired of killing them.” She finishes off her sandwich and espresso. She knows it’s just about time for them to head to the Blue Ridge train station. It’s 4:30 now, and the train leaves at 5:05. Granted, it’s a short drive, but even in a college town there’s plenty of traffic, and Annabeth doesn’t want to get behind a math professor who feels the need to go 20 in a 35 mile per hour zone. Again.  
  
She and Piper take turns using the single-occupancy restroom. As Annabeth is walking out, shaking the remaining water from her hands that the energy-saving hand dryer couldn’t evaporate, she nearly walks into the boy behind the counter. Except that he’s not behind the counter. Now he’s in front of her, and damn, he’s taller than she expected.  
  
That just makes him all the more attractive, because Annabeth isn’t exactly short herself.  
  
“Oh, sorry,” he says with a flash of a smile as he reaches back to untie his apron. “Didn’t mean to almost run you down.”  
  
“It’s fine,” she replies. “Have a good rest of your day.”  
  
“Yeah, you too. See you when you come in next, I guess.”  
  
Annabeth thinks that if she has to see him any time before she goes monster slaying, that might not be a bad thing. It would certainly give her some inspiration to go and stomp some monster ass. Though really, it would be more of a celebration if she could see him _after_. If she knew for a fact that she would run into him after sending some monsters straight back to Tartarus, it would supply her with enough energy to light up the greater New York area.  
  
She meets up with Piper outside the coffee shop, and they make their way to Annabeth’s car, which is parked in a nearby lot. Annabeth double checks to make sure they have all their monster-fighting gear, before climbing into the driver’s seat. She backs out of the parking spot and makes a beeline for the road. Piper leans forward and jabs her finger against the stereo button. She shuffles through Annabeth’s music apps before settling on an old alt rock playlist that Jason always hated. Annabeth isn’t sure if Piper’s sudden desire to blast Sixx:A.M. has to do with her anger with Jason, or if she just needs something that, when played loud enough, makes it nearly impossible to think.  
  
Unfortunately for Piper, Annabeth has trouble concentrating when the music is so loud she can feel the windows rattling, and so the volume has to get cranked down. Piper scowls, combat boots propped up on the dashboard. Normally Annabeth would lecture her on using the dashboard as a footrest, but she can feel the frustration rolling off Piper in waves.  
  
She decides to ask something that is sure to be very, very dangerous. She just hopes it won’t stop Piper from covering her back when they’re on the train, facing down the gorgons.  
  
“Have you seen Jason lately?”  
  
For a long moment she thinks Piper is going to ignore the question, pretend she didn’t hear. But then Piper lets out a little grunt and says, “He dropped in this morning, before I left for my first class.”  
  
Ah. That explains Piper’s excess abrasiveness and irritation. Annabeth supposes that if her (hypothetical) boyfriend died, then broke up with her because he’d been made a god against his will by his Lord of the Sky father, she’d probably be all kinds of conflicted.  
  
“Did he say anything interesting?”  
  
Piper snorts. “No. Just the usual. You know, be careful, don’t do anything stupid, hope your classes are going well.”  
  
Annabeth wants to laugh because that is all so _Jason_ , but she knows Piper doesn’t find any of it funny, so she’s not going to show that she does. By this time, she’s off campus and out on the main road. But as predicted, she’s behind a car that thinks it’s cool to drive like the roads might cave in if they go too fast. She swears, everyone in this town either drives like they’re trying out for NASCAR, or like they took driver’s ed with their eighty-year-old grandmother.  
  
“I mean, at least he’s still talking to you,” Annabeth points out. “Most of the other gods don’t even send us a basket of muffins when we save the world. At least Jason checks in on you.”  
  
Piper grunts again. “Well, it’d be great if he could check in with me about other stuff. You know, like who that guy was who I was making out with at that party the other night. Or the guy who I went out with last night. Things like that.”  
  
Annabeth bites off a sigh. She knows Piper’s hurting. She knows Piper’s heartbroken for a whole slew of reasons. And she can understand wanting to get Jason’s attention and make him jealous. But the thing is, most gods, even the minor ones, even the ones who just got turned, don’t see things the way mortals do. Jason probably views Piper as a part of his mortal life. But his mortal life is separate from where he is now, _what_ he is now. She’s a connection to his demigod past, and he’ll probably always retain some sort of affection for her – goodness knows he’s not popping in on Annabeth and telling her to be careful – but chances are, he’s not capable of love, not the way mortals experience it. He probably doesn’t care one way or another how Piper is choosing to move on – if she’s choosing to move on at all. Because Annabeth is, admittedly, a little skeptical. It sounds more like she’s trying to hang onto something that no longer exists, something that died with Jason.  
  
And fuck, if it isn’t hard enough simply _watching_ Piper go through this. Annabeth can only imagine the hell that her friend is in right now.  
  
Annabeth finally settles on, “You know Jason isn’t going to involve himself in your personal business.”  
  
“I feel like my classes are my personal business, and Jason is still asking about them.”  
  
“Maybe it’s safer,” Annabeth suggests. “Maybe he doesn’t want you to feel like he’s prying into your life. Maybe he feels a little guilty about how everything went down.”  
  
That’s a hell of a lot of maybes, but it’s all Annabeth can really offer Piper right now. It’s not like Piper is really going to listen to her anyway. Which is really too bad, because Annabeth is the daughter of Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, and when Annabeth’s on form she gives out some damn good advice.  
  
The snail-car turns off onto another road, and Annabeth is freed up to go the full speed limit – and maybe a few miles over. Hey, she’s in a rush to save the world, okay? It’s not like she’s doing this for selfish reasons. It’s not like she does anything for selfish reasons. In fact, now that she thinks about it, she can’t remember the last time she did anything for a selfish reason. She has absolutely no college social life save for Piper, and all her free time goes towards fighting monsters and saving the world. Hell, she can’t remember the last time she so much as relaxed in a nice bubble bath. It was probably before the Triumvirate decided to ruin everyone’s lives. They might be vanquished now, but they definitely left their mark on the world. And Annabeth’s not sure they’ll ever recover.  
  
They reach the train station, and Annabeth parks the car. She sticks her prepaid parking ticket behind the windshield and makes sure she and Piper are each carrying their train ticket. Thank goodness for online vouchers. She doesn’t know what she’d do without wifi and data.  
  
The girls grab their backpacks out of the trunk and Annabeth clicks the lock button on her key fob.  
  
“Remember the plan,” she says to Piper as they hurry towards their platform. “You’re going to get the mortals to safety as much as possible, while I distract the gorgons.”  
  
“Once the mortals are safe, I’ll sneak up behind the gorgons and brain ‘em from behind,” Piper nods. They’ve done this once or twice, even on monsters with actual brains. The gorgons are notoriously stupid, so Annabeth isn’t too worried. Mostly she’s just annoyed that they don’t realize they’re better off staying dead for the next sixty years or so.  
  
The train arrives, and everyone boards. Annabeth keeps an eye out for the gorgons, but she doesn’t see them. She hopes the gorgons haven’t decided to harass a different train, because she doesn’t have time to ride the trains between New York City and Blue Ridge all weekend. She’s got two papers due and a test to study for, and she’ll be damned if she’s going to fail her classes because of a couple of stupid _gorgons_.  
  
She and Piper take their seats, backpacks secure between their feet. Once the passengers have boarded, the train takes off, and Annabeth blows out a breath. They’re here, they’re on the train. The initial step has been taken. Now all they can do is wait. And waiting is the hardest part.  
  
It's not like they can listen to music on their phones or study the chapter questions in a textbook. They have to focus because who knows when the gorgons are going to decide to make an appearance?  
  
_If they even decide to_ , says an annoyingly negative voice at the back of Annabeth’s mind. _They might have gotten bored. They might be living it up in NYC. And then we’ll have a whole city to comb_. Annabeth hates when the negative thoughts start up. She uses training and yoga to combat that, but moments like these it feels pointless. She just wants to get this over with so she can get back to Blue Ridge and crash out in hers and Piper’s apartment.  
  
But damn it, she still has papers to start and a test that’s going to kick her ass if she doesn’t review the last few textbook chapters. Fuck her life.  
  
They’re an hour out of Blue Ridge when it happens. Annabeth straightens up, sniffing the air. Her sense of smell isn’t as poignant as Grover’s, but it’s pretty damn good, and she knows a monster when she smells it. She nudges Piper, who’s been scowling out the window, and nods down the train. Piper mutters, “About damn time,” and reaches into her backpack for her dagger, Katoptris. Annabeth is always amazed that they’re able to get through transportation security with their daggers and, on occasion, swords, but she supposes The Mist just makes the weapons look like something harmless. She can’t imagine what, but as long as The Mist keeps fooling the metal detectors, she’s not about to complain.  
  
She sticks her own dagger through her jeans belt and slaps her Yankees baseball cap on her head. She feels a warm tingle as her whole body disappears, and glances down just to make sure that the dagger isn’t floating its way through midair. One time the baseball cap malfunctioned and even The Mist couldn’t figure out how to disguise the dagger moving through the air all by itself. Annabeth sometimes wonders what happened to those people who witnessed the Great Magical Dagger. She hopes they could afford decent therapists, because gods know they probably need them now.  
  
Her bad.  
  
Annabeth slips out into the aisle, peering towards the back of the train car. It’s where she caught the whiff of monster stench, so she expects to see the gorgons any second. And sure enough, a moment later they clatter down the aisle, pushing a refreshment cart. The gorgons are dressed like the servers, but Annabeth notices that sticking out of their apron pockets are pamphlets for life insurance. She wonders if selling life insurance is the equivalent of selling Mary Kay cosmetics – you could get rich, but chances are you’re just going to lose a shit ton of money and be left with a whole bunch of foundation that is totally not your shade. Her stepmom tried to sell makeup when Annabeth was five, and it occurs vaguely to Annabeth that this is probably the reason she doesn’t like makeup much. That, and it smudges whenever she gets in a fight. She’s tried the waterproof, sweatproof kind, but it’s just not strong enough against monster slime or whatever else she gets sprayed with.  
  
Annabeth whistles twice, the signal to Piper to start ushering people out of the car. She’s not sure where Piper’s going to hide them, but she’s hoping not in the restrooms. That happened once when they were on an airplane. It didn’t turn out so well.  
  
Piper climbs up onto her seat and sticks her fingers in her mouth, letting out an earsplitting whistle. And just like that, she has the entire train car’s attention. “Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you know that you might be in danger by staying in your seats. But if you do exactly what I tell you, you’ll get out of this safe and alive.” She flashes her audience a winning smile, and Annabeth is relieved to see that everyone is paying rapt attention to her – including the gorgons. No doubt the gorgons think their disguises are foolproof and that they’re in danger as well.  
  
“You all need to exit this car,” Piper tells them as Annabeth slips back towards the gorgons, yanking her knife out of her belt. “Go down to the refreshment car if you want or hide out in the bathrooms – “  
  
Annabeth shoots Piper a glare. It doesn’t do any good since she’s invisible, but it makes her feel a tiny bit better.  
  
“ – just somewhere that isn’t this car. Okay? Sound good?”  
  
Thanks to Piper’s charmspeak, the people agree and begin pushing out of the car, most of them muttering about seeing if they can find booze in the refreshment car. There’s that problem down, at least. Except that the gorgons are now looking around worriedly, and Annabeth can hear the stupider one – Euryale – say to Stheno, “Do you think there’s a bomb or something in this car?”  
  
Annabeth is pretty sure she’s never met a dumber monster.  
  
Stheno scratches at a tusk. “You idiot!” she hisses. “That was Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite. Which means, wherever Piper is – “  
  
Uh oh. Annabeth hasn’t counted on Stheno being somewhat…intelligent is too strong a word, but she’s not a total dumbass. Not completely, anyway.  
  
Stheno takes a huge whiff of air. “I SMELL DAUGHTER OF ATHENA!”  
  
Ah fuck. Time to move.  
  
Annabeth leaps across the remaining distance, aiming her dagger for any part of Stheno she can reach. Unfortunately, Stheno apparently smells her coming, or maybe she hears her, and backs up out of the way. Annabeth crashes into the refreshment cart, and goes down with a thud. Her head hits the floor – _hard_ – and she feels the baseball cap slip off. This is so not cool.  
  
“ANNABETH CHASE!” Maybe it’s Annabeth’s imagination, but it seems like Stheno is still screaming at the top of her lungs, and Annabeth’s head hurts too much to deal with this shit.  
  
“Can you quiet it down, please?” Annabeth asks. The hilt of her dagger is pressing into the small of her back, which she supposes is better than the alternative. She rolls over and her fingers grip the hilt. “My head is starting to throb.”  
  
“You know what will help with that?” Euryale asks Annabeth with all the accommodation of an actual server. “A nice, hot cup of chamomile tea. I think we have a teabag somewhere in here – “ She begins flipping through the box that holds the teabags and packets of hot cocoa, and Annabeth’s head is spinning. It suddenly feels very surreal that she is being offered chamomile tea by a gorgon, and she wonders if she’s actually conscious or if she’s having a very real dream. “And you know what you need with that cup of tea, dearie?” Euryale continues on. “Life insurance. It’s very important that you sign up now, while you’re young. You never know what’s going to happen.”  
  
“Cut the nurse-act!” Stheno snarls at Euryale. “We’re not really here to sell life insurance or offer tea. We’re here to FEAST!” The last word comes out like a war cry, and Annabeth’s head is not ready for this. It occurs to her that she’s still on the ground, and she really needs to get up, but she really can’t. She’s pretty sure if she does, she’ll puke. Isn’t that a sign of a concussion? _Damn it_. Where’s Piper? Because she could really use some help right now.  
  
If only she could get to her backpack. She’s got a little baggie of ambrosia and a thermos of nectar. But her backpack is clear across the car. She needs a distraction. And she needs one now.  
  
And then the car door clatters open and a distraction arrives. Just not in the way Annabeth hoped.  
  
It’s the boy from the coffee shop, the one Annabeth almost ran into on her way back from the restroom. He looks startled at the scene in front of him, and Annabeth can only imagine what The Mist is shaping this into. She really hopes it doesn’t look like a couple of old ladies got the drop on her, because that would just be embarrassing. And even though she’s laying on the sticky floor of the train with a probable concussion, she still wants to impress this boy. Which is totally stupid, because she doesn’t even know his name. But hormones aren’t picky about who they assault.  
  
The boy’s eyes fix on the gorgons. “I thought you two looked a little odd when you offered me a bottle of water. I recognize you from my Greek mythology textbook in high school. You’re gorgons.”  
  
Annabeth blinks. Did the cute boy from the coffee shop just call out the gorgons? Why does he even know what gorgons are? He absolutely should not know what gorgons are. He’s not a demigod, of that she’s sure of. And he’s also not a god. She can spot those a mile away. No, he’s a regular mortal. But a regular mortal…who can see through The Mist?  
  
They do exist, she reasons. The oracle at Camp Half-Blood, Rachel Dare, can see through The Mist. And except for getting hijacked by the spirit of the oracle every now and then, Rachel is about as normal as mortals can be.  
  
The boy’s gaze slides down to Annabeth, and a flicker of recognition flickers in his eyes. She isn’t sure how to mime that she needs a diversion, but he notices that she’s gripping her dagger, and he nods once. He grabs the cart, and yanks it out of Euryale’s grip, swinging it around and knocking the gorgons down. He shoves the cart down on them and hurries to Annabeth’s side.  
  
She mumbles something about a concussion and needing her backpack, and even though his eyebrows knit together in confusion, he hurries to the backpack still sitting on the floor in front of her seat. He’s fast, and he has it back to her in what feels like a couple seconds. She digs through it and finds the ambrosia quickly. Her hands shake as she opens the bag, but she’s able to break a piece off the square and she pops it in her mouth. It tastes like the homemade brownies she and Piper make sometimes when they need something extra chocolatey, and she thinks she can even taste the hint of hazelnut that Piper likes to add. She chews and swallows, and her head begins to clear immediately. She grabs her thermos of nectar, and carefully take a couple of small sips. That tastes like white hot chocolate, her favorite drink to get when it’s cold and stormy.  
  
She caps the thermos and shoves it and the baggie back into her pack. She gets to her feet, no longer feeling like she might throw up. Her strength is back, and her grip on her dagger is firm. And the gorgons are still trying to get the refreshment cart off, their legs flailing helplessly.  
  
It’s exactly where Annabeth wants them.  
  
She shoves the cart off, only to nail her dagger right through Euryale’s chest. Euryale wails, “I offered you tea!” as she crumbles into dust.  
  
“You weren’t fast enough,” Annabeth says to the dust, before focusing in on Stheno.  
  
“Oh, I don’t think so, girlie!” Stheno growls as she gets to her feet. Unfortunately for Stheno, Coffeeshop Boy is right behind her. He swings his backpack right into Stheno, and Annabeth has to admit that his aim is very nice – he pushes her right into Annabeth’s waiting dagger. It’s the easiest kill Annabeth has ever made, and she’s not about to complain.  
  
Stheno dissolves with a scream of outrage, and Annabeth kicks her boot through the dusty remains. She knows it should be months at the least before the gorgons reappear, but she’s not taking any chances. She’s had enough of them to last her the rest of her life.  
  
Which might last a bit longer now, thanks to Coffeeshop Boy.  
  
She looks up at him. She wants to say thank you, but she also wants to know why he recognized the gorgons – or better yet, why he only seemed vaguely surprised that monsters straight out of Greek mythology were hanging out on the train.  
  
“I expect you have some questions,” Annabeth begins, but he shakes his head.  
  
“You’re a demigod, right?”  
  
“I – yeah. Yeah, I am. You’re not – “  
  
“No,” he confirms. “My mom is a regular mortal.”  
  
“And your dad?” She holds her breath.  
  
“He was mortal.”  
  
“Oh. But you can see through The Mist.”  
  
“My mom can, too. It’s like a family gift or something.” He rolls his eyes, and Annabeth gauges that he’s not too impressed with this gift. No doubt it’s put him in danger more times than he can count, and he’s probably spent a lot of time trying to convince people that he’s not crazy.  
  
“Um…wow, okay. I’m sorry.” It seems to be the only appropriate response.  
  
He shrugs. “Don’t be, I’m used to it. You’re not the first demigod I’ve met, and those gorgons aren’t the first monsters I’ve seen.”  
  
“Well…thanks. For helping me. I hit my head pretty hard, and I think I might’ve had a concussion.”  
  
“I kind of gathered that when _concussion_ was pretty much the only word I understood.”  
  
Annabeth grimaces. “I really appreciate the distraction. My friend was supposed to help me, but I guess she got caught helping the regular mortals.”  
  
He shrugs again. “You’re welcome. Right place, right time, I guess. You’re doing better?”  
  
She nods. “I heal fast, especially with nectar and ambrosia.”  
  
“That’s good to hear. Well, it was cool helping you fight monsters and all that. I’d say let’s do it again, but I really don’t want to see another monster for at least another month.”  
  
“Then you definitely don’t want to hang out with me,” Annabeth tells him. “I see monsters at least once a week.”  
  
His lips twitch. “Just don’t lead me into any ambushes and I think I’ll be fine.”  
  
Annabeth smiles. Suddenly she’s glad that Piper is off helping the mortals. Coffeeshop Boy doesn’t seem too opposed to spending more time with her, even though she nearly got him killed five minutes ago. And this is the best thing to happen all day. “What’s your name?”  
  
“Percy. And you’re Annabeth, right?”  
  
“Right,” she says with an enthusiastic nod.  
  
“So, do you think I could possibly get your number?”  
  
Is this real life? It can’t be. Guys never ask for Annabeth’s number. They might seem interested in her at the beginning, but after her first weird disappearance, or when they see her beating up something that The Mist has decided should look like a normal human being, they generally run for the hills. But not Percy. Maybe it’s because he can see through The Mist. Maybe it’s because he’s able to help her beat up those monsters. Maybe he just doesn’t care that she’s practically a walking monster target. Maybe he likes her.  
  
Whatever the reason, she gives him her number.


	2. Never Have I Ever Believed in a Happy Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is no way in hell that Percy is going to text her. Whenever she goes into the coffeeshop, he’ll probably duck down behind the counter and pretend he’s not there. After all, why would he want to see her again? He knows she’s a demigod, which means she’ll have monsters coming at her like crazy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the fantastic reactions to the first chapter! I was blown away by everything!
> 
> I wanted to get chapter 2 posted in a reasonable amount of time. As anyone who's reading A Semester Abroad knows, my updating schedule can be pretty haphazard. I'll try to aim for weekly updates, so we'll see how that goes. The chapter title comes from Niykee Heaton's song "Skintight". More characters are mentioned in this chapter, and while the events in PJO and HOO did happen, they happened with different characters and in different ways. 
> 
> Please enjoy :)

Annabeth is definitely giving Piper the silent treatment on the train ride back to Blue Ridge. Oh sure, technically it’s not Piper’s fault that she got caught in the middle of the surging crowd as they all rushed towards the refreshment bar. It’s also not her fault that some idiot didn’t listen closely enough to Piper and decided to panic, which therefore caused Piper to lose control of the crowd. And it’s certainly not her fault that it took her the entire fight to get the crowd back under control, before they decided it’d be a good idea to jump from a moving train because Death By Stupidity is apparently preferable to the chance they might be eaten by monsters. And Annabeth knows that Piper never backs down from a fight. For a child of Aphrodite, she’s feisty. She’s the first to run into a battle, and she won’t stop until she’s sure all the monsters are dead.  
  
But Annabeth is still feeling a tiny bit annoyed. Sure, some good came out of Piper’s absence. She got to talk to Coffeeshop Boy – AKA, Percy. She gave him her number. She and Percy managed to send the gorgons back to Tartarus. Really, things worked out remarkably well.  
  
But now reality is settling in. There is no way in hell that Percy is going to text her. Whenever she goes into the coffeeshop, he’ll probably duck down behind the counter and pretend he’s not there. After all, why would he want to see her again? He knows she’s a demigod, which means she’ll have monsters coming at her like crazy. Granted, she’s an older demigod, so monsters leave her alone for the most part now. But Percy probably doesn’t know that once a demigod hits about 18, they become ten times safer. Percy has no reason to want to put his own life in danger by spending time with her, especially because he’s not getting anything out of it. He didn’t get trained to kill monsters. Annabeth had very comprehensive monster training before she got assigned her first quest. Percy probably only knows what he’s read in his high school textbook and what’s online. He probably has no idea how to use a dagger or a sword. And he’s already admitted that having to deal with monsters as a regular mortal is a major pain in the ass. There is _no way_ he’s going to text Annabeth.  
  
“I’m sorry!” Piper cries again for what is roughly the seven-hundred-and-eighty-eighth time since the train looped around to head back to Blue Ridge. “Okay? I’m super sorry. You know I would never leave you empty handed on purpose.”  
  
Annabeth sighs. Her phone is in her backpack, because she doesn’t want to drive herself crazy by constantly checking it. Especially when she knows Percy isn’t going to text her. He only asked for her number in the heat of the moment, before the adrenaline of the battle had seeped out. Once he realizes what exactly happened, he’ll be harder to get ahold of than a slime monster.  
  
The thought is depressing, but it occurs to Annabeth that she’s now sulking over a guy, the way Piper was a few hours ago. And Piper had more reason to sulk. Annabeth really doesn’t. Sure, Percy is cute. And he really knows how to swing a backpack. But he’s not the be-all, end-all of her life. She barely knows him. She’s had two conversations with him – three, if she counts the one by the coffeeshop restroom. And really, it was so close to the restroom that she really doesn’t.  
  
“I know you wouldn’t,” Annabeth finally says. “I know. _I’m_ sorry. I’m being moody for a stupid reason.”  
  
Piper perks up at that. She can spot the beginning of a guy problem a mile away. Perks of being the daughter of Aphrodite. “Who is he?” she immediately asks.  
  
“Just this guy I’ve seen on campus a couple times. He works at the coffeeshop we go to.”  
  
“Oh, the barista? Yeah, he’s kinda cute.”  
  
Annabeth drums her fingers on her leg, debating on whether she should tell Piper that Percy’s the one who helped her defeat the gorgons. She finally just spits out the story, explaining how Percy saved her ass and how he asked for her number.  
  
“But that’s good!” Piper cries enthusiastically. “That means he wants to see you again.”  
  
Annabeth can’t believe she has to explain this to Piper. Surely the daughter of the goddess of love should understand how much your love life sucks when you’re a demigod.  
  
“It’s bad. It’s very, very bad. He’s going to change his mind about texting me. He’ll realize that danger follows me everywhere I go. He can see through the Mist, Piper. He’s had to deal with monsters and demigods probably his entire life, but he’s never gotten the training to deal with them. Why the fuck would he want to hang out with someone who’s a magnet for all his problems?”  
  
“Because he wants to sleep with you,” is Piper’s very wise, insightful response. “That’s why.”  
  
Annabeth bites off a snarky retort and instead settles back against the train seat, daydreaming about the takeout she’s going to order when they get back to the apartment. All she really wants is food and a nice, hot shower. A glass or two of wine wouldn’t go amiss either. Or maybe she should make herself hot cocoa with Bailey’s Irish Cream. Or maybe both. Alcohol will definitely help her boy situation. At the very least, it’ll numb the pain of rejection.  
  
Even though it really shouldn’t matter because, once again, she barely knows the guy. So what if he doesn’t text her? So what if he avoids her on campus for the rest of their college careers? It’s no big deal. She can do better. She _will_ do better. Maybe she should see if there are any dating apps for demigods. That would certainly help her situation.  
  
The train ride from New York City to Blue Ridge is two hours and fifteen minutes. Annabeth uses the remaining hour to debate on the pros and cons of chow mein versus fried rice, and wonton soup and hot and sour soup. On the bright side, she at least knows she’s in the mood for Chinese food.  
  
“You want Chinese?” she asks Piper as the train pulls into the Blue Ridge train station.  
  
“Sounds good to me,” Piper agrees, and that’s settled. Because Annabeth is still avoiding her phone, Piper agrees to order their food for them on their favorite Chinese restaurant’s takeout app. They pick up their order on their drive home from the train station, and Annabeth feels better as she inhales the fragrant aroma of the chicken chow mein and the wonton soup. Of course, Piper ordered some vegetarian options, but Annabeth isn’t focusing on that. She wants the food she’s been craving.  
  
They get back to their apartment, and find that it’s not as empty as when they left it that morning. A certain blond minor god is sitting on their couch, flipping through the channels on their TV.  
  
Annabeth rolls her eyes. “I swear, you’re here more now that you’re technically dead than you were when you were alive.”  
  
Jason cracks a small smile, but it’s hard to say whether he’s actually amused.  
  
“Wow, twice in one day,” Piper deadpans. “Whatever did I do to deserve so much attention?”  
  
Annabeth sets the takeout bag down on their kitchen table and begins working on the tight knot so she can get to the food. Plus, she’s trying to pretend that she’s not actually listening to their conversation, even though she totally is.  
  
“I just wanted to make sure you made it home in one piece,” Jason tells her.  
  
“They were just _gorgons_ ,” Piper scoffs. “Nico calls them Twiddle Dumb and Twiddle Dumber, remember?”  
  
“Yeah, but you and Annabeth have been going nonstop for the last six months.”  
  
“Not nonstop. This isn’t like our quests to save the world. We go out and fight monsters once or twice a week. Honestly, this pace is very relaxing in comparison to that time we defeated Gaea.”  
  
“But you’re also going to college full time,” Jason points out. “And that’s exhausting in and of itself. Not to mention all the guys you’ve been going out with.”  
  
Annabeth sees a satisfied glimmer in Piper’s eyes. She’ll be very happy that Jason has finally acknowledged that she’s dating guys who aren’t him.  
  
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” Piper sniffs, but Annabeth thinks the tone of that sniff is pure coyness. She hopes that if Piper decides to have her way with the minor god of the hunt, she’s able to grab her food and get the hell to her bedroom before she has to witness anything disturbing. She’s pretty sure Piper and Jason have slept together since Jason became a minor god, but Piper’s not about to admit it. It would certainly explain the vicious cycle she’s noticed with Piper. Piper will have days where she’s on top of the world, and then soon after she falls back into a state of functioning depression. And right after she pulls herself out of that, she begins flirting her way through campus. And then the cycle begins all over again.  
  
“It’s not my business,” Jason says calmly. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”  
  
Piper presses her lips together. “No, it’s fine. I don’t care. It’s not like we’re together anymore. How can we be? I’m just a lowly demigod and look at you. You’re a fancy-ass god of the hunt.”  
  
It’s a good thing Jason hasn’t entirely lost his sense of humor, because the alternative is that Piper would be sizzling right where she’s standing.  
  
The corners of Jason’s eyes crinkle, and he presses his lips together too, though Annabeth knows he’s trying not to laugh. “It’s not like that, Piper. You know it’s a disastrous idea for gods and demigods to date.”  
  
“You’re only a minor god,” Piper insists, but her argument is not a strong one. She sounds resigned, like she knows she’s fighting a losing battle. Like she’s fought this battle before, and therefore knows the outcome.  
  
“I’m a minor god who isn’t supposed to be dating a mortal,” Jason says gently. He gets to his feet and reaches for Piper. She resists, crossing her arms and turning away. He sighs and moves so that he’s standing in front of her. He places his hands chastely on her waist and softly kisses her forehead, before vanishing into thin air.  
  
Annabeth is finally able to get the knot untied, and she hurriedly pulls out Piper’s vegetarian ramen and veggie egg rolls. Piper looks like she’s going to need both ASAP.  
  
Piper flings herself onto their couch dramatically. “I know it’s hopeless and pointless and useless,” she mumbles. “But I still love him. And I miss him. It’s been almost eight months since I found out he got turned into a god, and a year since he…you know…died. When I found out he’d been turned into a god, it felt like a chance to start over, you know?”  
  
Annabeth nods, but she knows that’s not the whole story. Piper doesn’t want to expand on that right now though, and Annabeth isn’t going to make her. Being a demigod is hard enough without having your love life dragged through the mud every time you turn around.  
  
“I just miss him,” Piper says softly, and her hazel eyes fill up with tears. Annabeth hurries around the table in case Piper needs a hug, but the other girl is quick to pull herself together. She’s got it down to a science now. Within seconds, her eyes go back to normal, and when she speaks her voice is steady and strong. “Is that my ramen? It smells really good.”  
  
“Yeah, it’s your ramen.” Annabeth peeks into the container. “It looks like they added a soft-boiled egg, too. Just the way you like it.”  
  
Piper appears to perk up, but the smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. And Annabeth knows it won’t, not until Jason either throws his lot in with Piper’s, or just stops coming around completely. Annabeth is hoping that Jason chooses Piper, but she knows the chances of that aren’t likely. Relationships between gods and demigods never work out. They aren’t meant to.  
  
 _Just like relationships between demigods and regular mortals_ , Annabeth reminds herself as she thinks back to Percy. _Those don’t usually last either_. And with that depressing thought, she sits down to her chow mein and wonton soup. And she and Piper eat in nearly complete silence, each thinking about how much being a demigod sucks.

* * *

After they’ve tossed away the takeout containers, Piper convinces Annabeth to check her phone. Annabeth does so reluctantly and – sure enough – the only text she has is from Grover, making sure she and Piper are okay after their mission. She shoots Grover back a text apologizing for the late reply and the assurance that she and Piper are just fine, before setting her phone down.  
  
Piper makes a sympathetic face. “I’m sorry. But I’m sure he’ll text you. He just probably hasn’t gotten around to it.”  
  
“Yeah, I guess.” Annabeth doesn’t agree with Piper at all, but Piper is still giving off sad vibes, so Annabeth doesn’t want to make Piper feel any worse. She offers Piper the use of the shower first, which Piper gladly accepts. Annabeth sits down at the kitchen table with her laptop and begins a fun night of homework post-monster slaying.  
  
Annabeth has a little trick she uses for papers. She sets a certain word count, one that’s not too high, and tells herself she can stop when she reaches that word minimum. Once she reaches it, she usually decides that she can do another hundred words, and then another hundred, until she’s knocked out a decent amount of the paper. It doesn’t work every time – when she’s exhausted, it’s nearly impossible to reach the first word count – but tonight it does, and before long she’s got nearly half her first paper done, and a quarter of the second paper finished. She does a quick review for the test on Tuesday and checks the time. It’s after midnight now, and Piper headed to bed a good hour ago.  
  
Annabeth decides it’s time to shower and follow in Piper’s footsteps. She’s feeling sore and achy now, and her head hurts where she hit it on the ground. Nectar and ambrosia are great for fast healing, but they can’t do much for little things like bruises or sore muscles.  
  
She takes a long, hot shower, throws on her favorite pajamas, and curls up in bed with a cup of tea and a good book. Her phone is charging on her nightstand, and she decides to torture herself once more by checking it.  
  
No texts. She does have a Snapchat notification, but that’s from Leo, and it’s nothing more than a silly video of him and Calypso dancing to some stupid pop song. They’re out in California right now, so it’s only 10pm right now. No doubt their night is just beginning.  
  
Annabeth responds to the video with a, **Haha you two are so cute!** before setting her phone down for the night for good.

* * *

She takes the opportunity to sleep in the next morning. She tells herself it’s a reward for being so productive with her homework the night before, but truth is she’s just plain exhausted after yesterday – after the last six months. It has been nearly a year since they defeated the Triumvirate. In the first few months, they noticed a slight increase in monster activity, but nothing too extreme. But in the last six months, monsters have been on the rise, and there doesn’t seem to be much they can do to slow it down. At least monsters are staying dead right now, so they know the Doors of Death aren’t open. Annabeth remembers that, how Nico and Leo literally had to go in through Tartarus in order to close the doors. The experience was beyond traumatizing for both of them, but after extensive therapy, they both seem to be healing. They’re both in happy, healthy relationships, Leo with Calypso (yes, _the_ Calypso from the myths) and Nico with Will Solace. And Annabeth is pleased for both of them. She’s still very close to the other demigods who took part in their quest to Greece when they were teenagers. There is Piper of course, and Jason, though he barely counts. Then there’s Leo, Calypso, Nico, and Reyna. Nico and Reyna kind of got roped into the quest at the last moment, but they really pulled through in the end.  
  
The last Annabeth has heard about Reyna, she is still praetor at Camp Jupiter and has had some “friendly” encounters with Thalia, Jason’s older sister and the lieutenant for the Hunters of Artemis. And here is yet another example of a demigod getting involved with someone who is very clearly a bad idea. There is no way Reyna and Thalia can begin dating if Thalia wants to keep her place as lieutenant for Artemis. And a part of Annabeth wants to call Reyna up and ask her what the fuck she thinks she’s doing. But she also knows that Reyna is smart enough and capable enough to be aware of how bad the situation is. And Annabeth really just needs to mind her own fucking business.  
  
It's after 11 when Annabeth finally rolls out of bed and pads out to the kitchen. Piper has apparently already gone out – her favorite sneakers are gone from their place by the front door, and when Annabeth checks, she finds Piper’s bedroom empty. Annabeth shrugs and instead shoots Piper a text to make sure she’s okay, before starting breakfast. She would’ve liked to have gone to the nearby café that makes the best pancakes, which she and Piper try to eat at most mornings after a monster hunting, but she knows that they stopped serving breakfast twenty minutes ago. So instead she starts the coffee and gets to work making herself an omelet and some wholegrain toaster pancakes that Piper apparently thought could find a nice home in their freezer. They’re not exactly the fluffy pancakes Annabeth has in mind, and her omelet falls apart before she can flip it onto her plate, but since she hasn’t been expecting anything gourmet, she can’t complain. Everything is delicious, and she feels better after eating a decent meal and drinking a couple cups of coffee.  
  
In fact, she feels so good that she decides to hit the gym. It’s not like she’s going to get a chance to get to Camp Half-Blood this weekend for training, anyway. Besides, Annabeth has been taking a boxing class at the campus gym – actually, she’s taking most of the fitness classes. She loves being physically challenged – and there’s a class early this afternoon. And so she throws on workout clothes, ties her hair up in a ponytail, and grabs her gym bag.  
  
After the boxing class, she showers in the locker room, throws on leggings and a sweatshirt, and heads to the library to do some more work on her papers. She’s gotten a text back from Piper, saying that she’s fine, she just had a study group she had to get to this morning. Whether or not that’s true Annabeth doesn’t care. She understands needing to just _get out_ sometimes.  
  
She’s nearly finished with her first paper when her phone buzzes with a text. She reaches for it, figuring it'll be Piper asking if she’s got anything in mind for dinner. But when she glances down at the message, she sees that it’s not Piper at all. The contact reads **Maybe: Percy**.   
  
With shaking fingers, she manages to unlock her phone and gets into the text. Sure enough, the message says, **Hey it’s Percy. Killed anymore monsters?**  
  
Annabeth laughs, but she’s not feeling amused, not really. There’s too much giddiness pumping through her bloodstream for that. She can’t believe it. He actually texted her. She’s not even sure how to react or how to feel. But the one thing she does know is that she wants to text him back. So she does.  
  
 **Not so far. Ran into anymore monsters?**  
  
 **Lol nope! Which is a good thing because I don’t know any demigods currently in NYC.  
**  
So he’s still in the city.  
  
 **Why’d you end up going to NYC?  
  
My family lives here. I try to visit them once or twice a month.**  
  
And just like that they’re texting rapidly back and forth, asking each other questions and shooting jokes at each other. Annabeth is able to finish her paper between texts, but just barely, and her mind is mostly on her conversation with Percy. Eventually he messages her to say that he’s about to go see a movie with his mom, stepdad, and little sister, and he’ll text her later. She tells him to have fun, and finally packs her stuff up to head back to the apartment.  
  
She finds Piper there, making some sort of vegetarian pasta dish. She looks slightly better than she did last night, and Annabeth is hoping fervently that this is not because Jason was naked in her bed earlier.  
  
“I’m really sorry if I scared you this morning with my disappearing act,” Piper says to Annabeth. “And for not waking you up in time to go out for breakfast. But I cooked dinner. I hope this helps make up for the way I acted last night and this morning.”  
  
Since Piper’s cooking is considerably more edible than Annabeth’s, Annabeth is feeling very forgiving.  
  
“It’s okay,” Annabeth assures Piper. “I get that you needed some space. I know you’re still hurting over Jason.”  
  
Piper sighs. “I feel like I’m being really melodramatic about this. It just…it sucks. It sucks so hard.”  
  
“I know it does. But in time it’ll get better. By the way…Percy texted me this afternoon.”  
  
Piper’s eyes light up. “And? Did you text him back? Have you heard back from him?”  
  
Annabeth chuckles. “Yes, I did text him back, and yes, I did hear back from him. We actually had a pretty good conversation going there for awhile. He’s going to see a movie with his family, so I think we’re done texting for the day. But…I didn’t expect this. I didn’t think he would text me. I didn’t think he’d want to.”  
  
“He likes you,” Piper says with a shrug. “Of course he’s going to text you.”  
  
“The other guys I’ve been into haven’t wanted anything to do with me after discovering that I kill monsters,” Annabeth replies, her voice small.  
  
“Those other guys weren’t worthy of your time and energy.” Piper gives the pasta a stir. “If they were, they wouldn’t have run for the hills.”  
  
“Actually, I think one of them got a restraining order against me.”  
  
“Case and point. Anyway, this is done. Oh, and I have garlic bread in the oven.”  
  
Annabeth sets the table while Piper pulls out the garlic bread. A couple minutes later the girls are loading their plates up with food and sitting down to dinner. Piper inquires more about Annabeth’s text conversation with Percy, and Annabeth is more than happy to fill her in. They talk a little bit about the fitness classes the gym is offering, and Piper decides to go with Annabeth to the boxing class on Monday. They chat about when they should drive to Long Island to visit Camp Half-Blood, but it’s more hypothetical than anything. Annabeth knows Piper isn’t looking forward to seeing the place. She hasn’t been back since Jason died, and Annabeth sometimes wonders if Piper will ever return.  
  
After the kitchen is cleaned up, they settle down on the couch to catch up on their favorite reality shows, but Annabeth is quickly distracted when Percy texts her again.  
  
 **Just got out of the movie :) how’s your night been?  
  
Pretty good. Had dinner with Piper, and now we’re watching tv.  
  
Sounds very normal for a demigod.  
  
Most my nights are normal, believe it or not. It’s only the occasional evening that I have to fight monsters.**  
  
This is maybe an under-exaggeration, but Annabeth is really hoping to keep Percy around for a little while.  
  
They end up texting the rest of the evening, and they only stop when Annabeth tells him that she’s beginning to fall asleep. Percy says that he is too, and their conversation ends for the night.  
  
Annabeth drifts off soon, but since she’s a demigod, she doesn’t get to have nice, peaceful dreams. Instead she has nightmares.  
  
 _She’s standing on a bridge overlooking a fiery red chasm. There is emptiness on either side, and the bridge is high enough that she feels as though she should be up in the clouds. But all she can see is the chasm. She thinks she can hear screams echoing from it, but she’s not sure and she really doesn’t want to know. The wind is blowing, but it’s hot and dusty, and her hair is blowing into her face. She wants to run, but she’s trying to remain calm. And so, she turns away and bumps right into her mother.  
  
Athena stares down her nose at her daughter, totally unimpressed. “Is this how you save the world?” she demands. “By letting the forces of chaos destroy it from within?”  
  
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about!” Annabeth cries. “Forces of chaos? What does that even mean?”  
  
“You will know soon enough,” Athena says coolly. “I’m afraid it is once again up to you and your friends to save the world.”  
  
Annabeth wants to stomp her foot, this is so unfair. “We’ve already saved the world three different times!” she hollers. “When will that be enough for you gods? Haven’t you taken enough from us?”  
  
Athena’s eyes soften, just for a moment. “I am afraid that is the fate of demigods, especially powerful ones. You will always be called in to defend the world from the evil forces that seek to destroy it.”  
  
Annabeth wants to break down into tears. She doesn’t want to be standing here, having this conversation with her mother, even if it is just a dream – although, really, demigod dreams are never just dreams. She wants to scream and kick and tell her mother that she won’t. She refuses to save the world again. The last time she and her friends saved the world, they lost one of their own. And how did the gods repay Jason? By turning him into a minor god so they could control him. They couldn’t let Jason stay in Elysium, maybe try for the Isles of the Blessed. Oh no. They had to yank him from paradise because they felt they were being called on to do a little too much for mankind.  
  
“I don’t want to be that demigod anymore,” Annabeth whispers. She wraps her arms around her body as if to ward off a chill, even though the air is hot and dry. Just like she’s always imagined Tartarus would be. “I just want to live a normal life.”  
  
“You will never be able to live a normal life,” Athena tells her, though her tone is not unkind. “But you will have normal moments. You won’t always feel like you’re being tossed about in the waves. But you will have to do something about that. You will have to take action if you want to feel less overwhelmed and overworked. It’ll fall on you, my daughter, to take care of yourself, or to find someone who can shield you from the worst of the chaos. And I’m afraid, Annabeth, that that will need to be enough.”  
  
Before Annabeth can demand to know what that means, Athena vanishes._  
  
And Annabeth wakes up. She’s shaking and quivering and drenched in cold sweat. She peels back her blankets and crawls out of bed. She can still feel the hot wind of Tartarus on her skin, still hear her mother’s words echoing in her mind.  
  
She makes her way out to the kitchen, where she begins brewing a cup of tea. It’s the only thing she can think of to do right now, when the dream is still so fresh in her mind. She glances at the time on the microwave, and sees that it’s 3:04am. Times like these, she wishes there’s someone she could talk to. Piper is great, of course, but she won’t take kindly to being woken up. Annabeth supposes she could check to see if Leo and Calypso are up, or maybe Reyna.  
  
Yeah…Reyna would be okay.  
  
She texts Reyna, and a minute later her phone rings.  
  
“Hey,” Annabeth says. “I wasn’t sure you’d still be up.”  
  
“I’m pretty much always up at this time,” Reyna tells her. “Courtesy of insomnia. What’s up?”  
  
“I just had this nightmare…” Annabeth launches into the description, and Reyna listens without comment. At last Annabeth falls silent.  
  
“Do you want me to tell you that it’s symbolic?” Reyna asks archly.  
  
“Yes,” Annabeth admits. “But I know it’s not.”  
  
“No, I doubt it is. The forces of chaos…that’s very interesting. _That_ could be symbolic. Your mother isn’t exactly known for using layman terms.”  
  
“No, that’s true,” Annabeth agrees. “It does sound more symbolic than anything else she said.”  
  
“She’s probably referring to whatever it is that are keeping these monsters coming. I know the Doors of Death are closed, but we’ve still got a lot of monsters coming escaping into the mortal world.”  
  
“Yeah, we’ve had a definite upswing here on the east coast.”  
  
“Here on the west coast as well.”  
  
Annabeth sighs. “I guess I just needed someone to talk to. Piper’s sleeping and I really…I don’t know. I just felt stupid, whining about a dream. I’m a demigod, I should be used to it.”  
  
“It sounds like you’re more upset about your conversation with your mom,” Reyna says gently. “Are you upset about being a demigod?”  
  
Annabeth considers this. “I don’t know about being upset. I’ve just felt…frustrated lately. And tired. I’m so tired.”  
  
“We all are,” Reyna assures her. “I’m hoping we’ll get some rest when this new onslaught has passed. But I guess we’ll see.”  
  
“Yeah,” Annabeth says heavily. “I guess we will.”


	3. What Are You After? Some Kind of Disaster?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth is aware that as a demigod, it’s her job to save the world. But sometimes she chafes against it. And most days, she wishes she could just be a regular mortal. But that’s not going to happen, so she focuses on the good parts. Like texting Percy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the lovely responses to the second chapter! I'm so sorry for the wait on both this one and A Semester Abroad! I had to go back to work as an "essential worker" (the less said about that the better) and haven't been able to write as much lately. But I'm hoping to update things on a regular basis. This is one of my favorite chapters for this story so far, and I had a blast writing it. I hope you guys like it! ❤
> 
> The chapter title is from "Some Kind of Disaster" by All Time Low.

The next few days slip by in a blur of homework, dreams, and regular college life. At least, as regular as college life can be for Annabeth.  
  
The following morning she tells Piper about her dream. Even though Piper doesn’t always see eye to eye with Reyna – Reyna liked Jason while Piper was dating him, and the whole thing got even messier when they ended up on the Argo II together for their huge, epic quest to first Italy and then Greece – Piper focuses on the part about Athena telling Annabeth that she basically has no choice when it comes to being a demigod, that the fate of the world will always rest on her shoulders. At least, that’s how Piper interprets it, and Annabeth can’t see how that analysis could possibly be wrong. When Kronos was set to take over, Annabeth and her friends had to save the day because the gods were messing everything up. When Gaea was attempting to wipe out all of humanity, Annabeth and the others had to battle on two fronts in order to send her back into unconsciousness. And when the Triumvirate tried to destroy the world – well, the more left unsaid about that, the better.  
  
In any case, Annabeth is aware that as a demigod, it’s her job to save the world. But sometimes she chafes against it. And most days, she wishes she could just be a regular mortal. But that’s not going to happen, so she focuses on the good parts. Like texting Percy.  
  
She knows he’s back on campus Sunday evening, but she’s not able to see him as soon as she’d like. He’s got homework to catch up on, and Annabeth and Piper are called away to deal with a sphynx who’s been refusing entrance to the students at a local middle school. Annabeth has to enter into a deal with the sphynx – if she answers the riddles, the sphynx has to leave Blue Ridge for good, but if she’s not able to figure it out, she has to offer herself up as a sacrifice. Luckily the riddles are easy, and Annabeth is able to solve them quickly. The sphynx slinks away, sulking at being bested by a daughter of Athena. Annabeth knows this particular sphynx is fairly harmless in comparison to other ones she’s met, but she’s still glad she doesn’t have to fight it.  
  
All in all, the next few days go by quickly, and before Annabeth knows it it’s Wednesday, and the homework is starting to pile up again. She’s sitting in the library on Wednesday evening, trying to get as much done as possible because she’s sure she and Piper will have to go fight a monster sometime within the next few days. And fact of the matter is that Annabeth is getting sick and tired of having to do homework when she’s exhausted and sore from a battle. She’s worried that her homework is going to suffer, and that means that her grades will suffer in turn. And that’s a consequence of being a demigod that she’s not willing to face.  
  
Days like these she finds herself thinking that she and Piper are crazy for attending college. It’s a very un-Annabeth-like thought, but at that moment it makes perfect sense. She and Piper are both loaded down with homework, they both have challenging majors, and they’re demigods who are probably going to get called up any day now to stop the latest apocalypse. There’s only so much a 20-year-old girl can take.  
  
Annabeth is just finishing the homework for her structural engineering class when her phone lights up with a text from Percy. He’s asking if she’s on campus. She quickly responds that she’s in the library, bogged down with homework. He doesn’t reply, so she figures that he was just making polite conversation, or that he was looking for someone to hang out with.  
  
It only occurs to her a few minutes later that both options are stupid. Boys are not known for making polite conversation over text, and there’s no reason for Percy to text her to see where she is on campus if he wants to hang out because A) they haven’t seen each other since Friday and B) more than likely he’s buried under his own stack of homework. He’s a marine biology major, so his courses are every bit as challenging as Annabeth’s. More than likely he was taking a break from studying, and decided to just shoot a casual text to Annabeth.  
  
She smiles at the thought. If she’s who he texts when he needs a study break, then she’s totally cool with that.  
  
She turns back to her homework, thinking that she could use a study break herself. She’s been working straight for the past couple hours, and her brain is beginning to feel melted. It’s seven in the evening and she hasn’t even thought about dinner. She supposes she’ll probably heat up some ramen when she gets home, though she knows she should eat something with some nutritional value. Besides, instant ramen tends to give her a headache due to the MSG. No, she should figure something else out. Maybe she’ll get takeout again.  
  
Before she can get any further than that, she spots someone heading towards her. She straightens up as she recognizes Percy. He’s dressed much as he was on Friday afternoon, in jeans and a sweatshirt, and he’s carrying two drinks. She recognizes the emblem on the cups – they’re from the coffeeshop he works at. It’s not too far from the library, and it suddenly occurs to Annabeth that Percy must have just been getting off work when he texted her.  
  
He sets the drinks down on the table and smiles at her. “Mind if I join you?”  
  
“Please.” She waves her hand at the empty half of the table, and he takes a seat.  
  
He pushes one of the drinks towards her. “This is for you.”  
  
Annabeth takes a sip and raises an eyebrow. It’s a vanilla latte, something she only orders when she’s buried ten feet deep in homework. Kind of like right now. “How’d you know?”  
  
“Your roommate stopped by the coffeeshop with some guy. When I asked about you, she said you were probably studying, and that she was amazed you hadn’t stopped in for a coffee.”  
  
Annabeth smiles. That sounds like Piper, making sure to subtly let Percy know one of Annabeth’s favorite drinks. She takes a sip and her smile widens. It’s perfect.  
  
“How much do I owe you?” she asks, reaching for her backpack.  
  
“It’s on the house,” Percy tells her.  
  
Annabeth quirks an eyebrow. “You’re not on the clock right now. You can’t just decide if a drink is ‘on the house’ or not.”  
  
He shrugs. “You can pay me back when you become a world-famous architect.”  
  
She laughs a little. “Yeah, fine.” She takes another sip. She’s not sure if it’s the caffeine already working its magic, or if it’s having a conversation with an actual human, but her brain no longer feels like it’s melting into a puddle. In fact, it’s up and running and actively paying attention to all these little details that should really be insignificant – the way Percy shoves the sleeves of his sweatshirt up to his forearms; the way he bites down on his bottom lip as he digs around in his backpack for his study supplies; how his ears are pierced, something Annabeth had never noticed. And then she realizes he’s got a tattoo winding down his right arm from under the sleeve of his sweatshirt, and her heart quickens a bit. She wonders what it’s a tattoo of, but she isn’t sure now is the right time to ask. Piper has a couple of little tattoos, and the meaning behind them is very personal and very private.  
  
And then Percy shifts a little bit, and Annabeth gets a hint of something that’s both clean and sweet and maybe a little spicy. It takes her a second to realize that it’s _Percy_ , probably either his cologne or his aftershave. And it’s all she can do to not haul him across the table so she can take a giant whiff of him. That would be weird and Annabeth is doing her best to pretend she’s normal. Okay, maybe not even that she’s normal, but that she doesn’t do weird things like going around smelling guys.   
  
She’s always been a sucker for a guy who smells good. Sadly, most demigod boys are too busy to stay on top of their personal hygiene, and she’s pretty sure Jason is the only one she knows who has ever used cologne. Wait, should that be past tense? Jason probably isn’t using cologne now that he’s a minor god. But maybe he is. She’ll have to ask Piper. And then she realizes that it really doesn’t matter, and that she should not be thinking about cologne right now.  
  
“So, who was the guy Piper came in with?” Annabeth asks as she hits the submit button for her engineering homework.  
  
Percy shrugs. “Tall and blond.”  
  
Annabeth’s stomach drops. “Blue eyes? A little scar above his lip?”  
  
“Yeah, that’s him.”  
  
She groans. “That’s Piper’s ex-boyfriend.”  
  
Percy frowns. “Is that a problem? Is he, like, an asshole or something? Do you want me to kick his ass?”  
  
Annabeth laughs a little. It’s a sweet offer and a normal one as well. Well, fairly normal anyway. “No, Jason’s great. It’s just he died last year and then got turned into a minor god, and he’s really not supposed to be spending time with Piper.”  
  
Percy’s fingers slip against the pencil he’s holding, and it drops to the table with a _thud_. “Wait. Backtrack for me. He died and then got turned into a minor god?”  
  
“Yeah.” Annabeth supposes it sounds crazy, but that’s just her world.  
  
“Okay.” Percy picks up his pencil and goes back to scribbling away in a notebook. “That’s cool, I guess. Is that something that happens for all demigods, or did he just pick the winning lottery ticket? ‘Congratulations, you’ve got the winning numbers. You win immortality and minor godliness’.”  
  
Annabeth has to giggle at the flippancy. “Um, I don’t think anyone considers getting turned into a minor god much of a reward. Except for the regular gods, I mean. But demigods tend to do their best to avoid getting turned into a god.”  
  
“Jason didn’t get the memo that becoming a minor god might be a bad idea?”  
  
“No, he knew. He just wasn’t given much of a choice. He’s the son of Zeus. And Zeus wasn’t too happy when Jason was killed in battle, so he decided to…I don’t know, _immortalize_ Jason or whatever. The problem is, Jason isn’t really letting his mortal life go, and he’s only sort of embracing his immortality.”  
  
“Just out of curiosity, is this what you and Piper talk about over dinner? The politics of the Olympian gods, and the pros and cons to having Zeus as a dad?”  
  
“Sometimes.”  
  
“So, who’s your ‘godly’ parent?” Percy uses his fingers as quotation marks.  
  
“Athena, the goddess of wisdom.”  
  
He doesn’t look surprised. “That makes sense. It explains why you’re so smart.”  
  
Annabeth blinks at him. “How would you know?”  
  
He shrugs. “You’re an architect major. That’s not an easy field of study. And we had a couple of general classes together freshman year. English 101 and a trig class. You pretty much ruined the grading curve for the rest of us.”  
  
Annabeth blushes, but she’s not thinking about his compliments. “You noticed me in English and trig?”  
  
It's Percy’s turn to blush. “I remember the freaky smart girl who almost ruined my GPA because both professors graded on a curve.”  
  
“I’m sorry.”  
  
He grins. “No you’re not. And you shouldn’t be. It motivated me to work harder, and I managed to save my GPA. You should never be sorry for your intelligence.”  
  
Annabeth quickly turns back to her laptop, letting her hair swing into her face to try to hide the fact that her cheeks are on fire. But she can’t help and peek over her laptop at her study partner a couple minutes later. And as time goes on, she notices that he’s doing the exact same thing to her.

* * *

As predicted, on Thursday afternoon Annabeth and Piper have to leave campus to go battle a minotaur that showed up in a quaint little town north of Albany early that morning. Annabeth hesitates about texting Percy that she has go to fight a monster, but Piper finally tells her to, “just fucking do it!” so Annabeth shoots a message to Percy, and he responds with, **Okay, be safe. Let me know when you’re done. Don’t get killed**.  
  
Annabeth ends up smiling the entire drive through Albany in the middle of rush hour traffic.  
  
The minotaur isn’t the easiest monster in the world to deal with, but Piper is able to laugh at it due to witnessing it get a BMW stuck around its neck. And Piper’s ability to make fun of it somehow gives it a more humorous look. The two girls are joined by Nico and Will, both of whom look really annoyed about having their romantic weekend cut short. They were the ones who first spotted the minotaur, due to choosing Paradise Cove as a vacation spot.  
  
“Can’t you just summon your godly boyfriend to zap this thing?” Nico huffs out to Piper as they crouch behind a dumpster that had been hanging out at the other end of the street until the minotaur decided to throw a temper tantrum after Will poked it in the ass with his sword.  
  
“He’s not my boyfriend anymore,” Piper snaps. “And you’re his best friend. Why don’t you do it?”  
  
“Because I’m not the one sleeping with him.”  
  
“That’s your excuse for everything.”  
  
The minotaur growls and picks up a nearby car, before hurtling it at the four demigods.  
  
Annabeth gulps as they dodge the car. You’d think with four demigods they could kick this thing’s ass, but apparently the minotaur is feeling particularly stubborn and is refusing to cooperate.  
  
“Remind me again how you killed it last time?” she says to Piper.  
  
“I stabbed it with a fileting knife from the kitchen.”  
  
“I just tried to stab it!” Will wails. “It got mad.”  
  
“Because you stabbed it in the wrong place,” Nico replies with a degree of patience that Annabeth didn’t think he possessed. “Go for the chest. Or the neck. Anything really, except for the _gluteus maximus_.”  
  
“Hey, no one wants to be stabbed there,” Will pouts, but he straightens up, brandishing his sword. Will is actually a very good fighter, despite his natural talent for healing. He’s the best at camp with a bow-and-arrow, but he hadn’t brought his due to thinking that he and Nico would be staying in a four star bed and breakfast, not running around the streets of a little vacation town taunting a minotaur.  
  
He really needs to learn that nothing comes from staying in a bed and breakfast.  
  
In the end, it’s Piper who ends up killing the minotaur. Her charmspeak only works so well on the minotaur, but she still manages to confuse it enough to get close. She leaps from one overturned dumpster to another, and finally launches herself at the monster, slicing her dagger through its neck. It crumbles into dust, not even leaving any spoils of war.  
  
“Well, that was fun,” Nico announces as he brushes his hands off and belts his sword. “I’d say that you two should join us for dinner, but I really don’t want to have anything else to do with you guys right now, so bye.”  
  
Will smiles a little as Nico grabs his hand and drags him towards their B&B. “Have a safe drive home,” he says to the girls. “I hope we don’t see you two until Monday at the earliest.”  
  
Annabeth hopes the same thing. She really wants to just get through the weekend without another monster battle.  
  
They’ve still got an hour drive home. Once they’re in the car, Annabeth texts Percy to let him know she made it through okay. He must have been waiting to hear from her, because he texts back immediately that he’s glad she’s fine.  
  
Annabeth and Piper are both starving, so they decide to stop at a fast food place that serves Americanized versions of Mexican food. In other words, tacos, burritos, and nachos make up pretty much their entire menu.  
  
“I think I’m going to get their bean and cheese burrito,” Piper says as Annabeth pulls into the drive-thru line. It’s three cars deep, and from what Annabeth can tell, the lady at the pickup window is reaming out the cashier because he gave her three packs of hot sauce instead of four. It’s really too bad this lady didn’t run across the minotaur before they killed him, because the line would be moving a lot faster if she had.  
  
Annabeth scans the menu once again. “I think I’m going for their chicken taco combo.”  
  
“I could go for a beef burrito,” comes a voice from the backseat, and both girls spin around to find Jason sitting there like he’s been there the entire time. He even has his seatbelt buckled across his lap, and Annabeth is rather offended by this because he’s _immortal_ and therefore he _can’t_ die, so the fact that he feels the need for a seatbelt seems like a passive aggressive comment on her driving.  
  
“What the fuck are you doing here?” she nearly screams. “Don’t you fucking knock?”  
  
“We’re in your car,” he says reasonably. “Where was I supposed to knock?”  
  
“Why are you even sitting in my car? Shouldn’t you be roof surfing or something? Or better yet, we can tie you to the antennae and string you ahead like a kite.” Annabeth supposes she’s being a little mean, but she’s hungry and tired and she has class at 8am the next morning and all she freaking wants is to eat and sleep. And the fact that Jason has popped into the backseat of her car doesn’t feel like a good sign. She’s really hoping that he’s just here to see Piper, but Annabeth doesn’t think she can actually get that lucky today.  
  
“So is that a no on the beef burrito?”  
  
Annabeth growls, because why the fuck can’t he get his own damn beef burrito?  
  
Piper nudges her and nods to the line of cars. The lady apparently got her hot sauce – thank goodness, Annabeth was really worried that this lady might only have enough hot sauce with which to dunk her mexi-fries instead of smothering them – and now the next car is pulling up to the window. Annabeth creeps her car forward and reaches the speakers. She places their order, including Jason’s beef burrito. When she glances in her rearview mirror, she sees Jason sitting there, a shit eating grin on his face.  
  
She’s really going to smack all the minor-godliness out of him if he keeps this up. She doesn’t care if Piper’s still in love with him. He needs a serious ass-kicking and she’s going to deliver it if he doesn’t stop being such a little shit.  
  
“Okay, here’s the deal.” Jason leans forward so he’s speaking to both girls. “I’ve got a message from both your moms.”  
  
Piper’s expression changes from amused to disappointed, before she’s able to get her emotions under control. “What’re the messages?”  
  
“Athena would like me to tell Annabeth that the dream she had the other night is more than just symbolic. It's a warning.”  
  
“No surprise there,” Annabeth grumbles.  
  
“A warning that she needs to take seriously.”  
  
“Yeah, okay, I’m right here.” The car at the front of the line pulls out onto the road, and Annabeth edges her Subaru forward.  
  
Jason smiles at her sweetly. “Just thought I’d emphasize the importance.”  
  
“I don’t suppose you can tell me what exactly is happening.”  
  
Jason shrugs. “I can tell you that something is rallying the monsters and urging them to go after the mortals.”  
  
Annabeth bites down on her bottom lip. This isn’t particularly surprising, but it’s still a new piece of information. “The forces of chaos?”  
  
“Something like that.”  
  
“It’s not any of the titans or Gaea or anything, right? Nothing we’ve fought before?”  
  
Jason shakes his head. “We think it’s something in Tartarus.”  
  
“Not Tartarus itself?”  
  
“No. Tartarus is too large and powerful to speak to hundreds of monsters. And influencing them to attack mortals isn’t really his thing. It’s not like he’d have anything to gain from it.”  
  
That much is true. Annabeth isn’t sure if she should be relieved because the threat _isn’t_ Tartarus, or if she should be scared because the threat is still unknown. Maybe a little bit of both.  
  
It's finally Annabeth’s turn to pick up the food. She pulls forward and passes her debit card to the cashier. She pays for the three meals, including Jason’s, though she makes sure to shoot him a nasty look because as a minor god, he should not be expecting lowly demigods to buy him dinner. The cashier passes the paper bag over, has Annabeth sign a receipt slip, and then Annabeth is free to go.  
  
“Okay, so that’s my mom’s message,” she says as she pulls back onto the main road. “What’s Aphrodite’s?”  
  
“Oh.” Jason suddenly looks a little embarrassed. “She’s just glad that you’re finally making time for a boy.”  
  
“That’s it? No mysterious promises about how she’s going to make my love life a living hell, or warnings about how I need to brush my hair once in awhile in order to attract a guy?”  
  
“Um, no. She heard Athena asking me to give you and Piper a message and decided to chime in with that little bit. Oh, and Aphrodite says hi,” he adds to Piper, who doesn’t look impressed by this. She fishes out Jason’s burrito from the bag and passes it back to him.  
  
“Nothing else? Nothing involving me?” Piper wants to know.  
  
“Um…nothing that I can say in front of Annabeth.”  
  
“I just bought you a fucking burrito!” Annabeth cries. “Spill the tea, Grace.”  
  
Jason’s cheeks visibly heat up, and it’s amazing that a minor god can still blush. “Aphrodite just said that it's a mark of a true daughter of love that she can still keep a minor god’s attention, both in the sheets and outside of them.”  
  
Piper’s face turns a bright red, and Annabeth isn’t sure whether to burst out laughing or throw up. But yeah, that sounds like a message Aphrodite would pass along to her daughter. Aphrodite is mostly just concerned with the drama that comes with love, at least when it comes to her children. No doubt she finds the whole Piper/Jason relationship more entertaining than a soap opera or a CW teen drama.   
  
Annabeth settles on, “I knew you two were still sleeping together.” She reaches into the takeout bag and fishes out a couple of mexi-fries.  
  
“Well, thanks for the burrito,” Jason says quickly, “but I have to get going.” And suddenly the backseat is empty once again. At least he took the burrito wrapper with him. Annabeth hates it when trash gets left lying around her car.  
  
Piper is quiet for most of the drive, focusing on her bean and cheese burrito and her drink. They’re nearly back to Blue Ridge when she finally bursts out, “It’s not like Jason and I are having sex on a daily basis or anything. It’s just, you know, once in awhile.”  
  
“Define ‘once in awhile’,” Annabeth says dryly. She’s just finished off her chicken taco and she’s licking the sauce from her knuckles while simultaneously checking to make sure there aren’t any cops around.  
  
“A couple times a month. Maybe once a week. Twice sometimes. Not that often.”  
  
“Twice a week,” Annabeth repeats. “Sounds like it’s pretty regular to me.”  
  
Piper flushes. “It was a lot more regular while he was alive and we were together.”  
  
Annabeth grimaces. “Great. Glad to hear it.”  
  
They’re quiet for a bit. Annabeth takes the Blue Ridge exit and follows the main road into town. She can see the gothic architecture of campus towering over the rest of the town. As she makes the turn that leads them down the street to their apartment, she says, “You know what you and Jason are right now? Friends with benefits.”  
  
“What?” Piper squeaks. “We are not!”  
  
“Yes you are. You’re not together. You’re friends, more or less. It’s kind of a loose term, but it works. And you’re sleeping together on a somewhat regular basis. He pops in, you two bang. You’re his booty call and he’s yours. Admit it,” Annabeth grins. “You’re friends with benefits with the minor god of the hunt.”  
  
“Oh my gosh.” Piper’s head falls back against the headrest. “Oh my gosh, I hate you so much.”  
  
“You know I’m right.”  
  
“This is awful. I can’t believe this. Am I really – is Jason really – “  
  
“Yep.” Annabeth’s grin widens. “You two are each other’s booty calls.”  
  
She pulls into her designated spot in front of the apartment building, and they climb out. Annabeth texts Percy to let him know they just got back to the apartment. To her surprise, her phone buzzes with a new text not ten seconds later: **Can I come over?**  
  
Annabeth swallows hard, before texting back, **If you want**. 

* * *

Twenty minutes later, there’s a knock on their apartment door. Annabeth hasn’t even changed out of her jeans and sweater, and she certainly hasn’t showered. She’s hoping she doesn’t smell too much like dumpster or monster-stink, but it can’t be helped right now. Percy insisted on stopping by her apartment on his way home from work, and while she’s not one hundred percent sure why, she’s secretly glad. She wants to see him again.  
  
So when he knocks on the door, she opens it two seconds later. He stands there, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and he looks so fucking good she just wants to yank him down the hall to her room and have her way with him. But she can’t, because they haven’t even had a first date yet. Also, she’s definitely starting to smell something distinctly dumpster-y, and she’s pretty sure it’s her.  
  
She steps back to let Percy into the apartment, and as she closes the door she realizes that he seems to be taking her all in, gaze raking over her like he’s making sure she’s still in one piece.  
  
“What’s up?” she prods, because she’s not really sure what his deal is at the moment.  
  
“I’m just – I was a little worried about you,” he admits. “I know you go off to fight monsters on, like, a weekly basis, but…” he shrugs. “I was a little bit concerned.”  
  
Annabeth smiles. “That’s sweet, but there’s really no reason to worry. I’ve trained pretty much my whole life to fight monsters. I’ve been doing this since I was twelve.”  
  
“I know.” He shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “But I’ve seen some of those monsters, and I know how dangerous they can be. So yeah, I was a little worried.”  
  
Annabeth wants to close the distance between them and hug him, but she doesn’t. And it’s not just because she really needs a shower. In that moment, she can feel this attraction hanging like a cloud between them. It’s heavy and deep and intense, and there is so much that can go wrong. They’ve only hung out once, and it was about as casual as it could be. But they’re attracted to each other, and that understanding is right there, echoing through the distance between them. If she gives in, if she hugs him or takes a chance and kisses him, there will be consequences. Percy’s already worried about her, and they’re barely even friends right now. If they become more, she can’t even imagine what it’ll do to him. She should end this now. She should tell him to go home, delete her number, forget about her. She needs to do that. Because if she doesn’t, she’ll end up destroying his life. She might even get him killed. It’s for his own good.  
  
But she really doesn’t want to.  
  
Percy seems to see the hesitation in her eyes, because suddenly he looks more earnest. “What did I say?” he wants to know. “What’s wrong?”  
  
Annabeth leads the way to the couch. She’s glad that Piper opted to call it an early night, so she doesn’t have to worry about anyone overhearing this conversation. She and Percy drop down and Annabeth sinks into the soft cushions.  
  
“I shouldn’t get involved with you,” Annabeth says softly. “I shouldn’t…you shouldn’t have anything to do with me.”  
  
He frowns. “Why not? Because you’re a demigod?”  
  
“Yeah. I’m a demigod and my whole life is basically one huge obstacle course. A very dangerous obstacle course. I spent my first seven years getting attacked by monsters. My friends and I have saved the world three times and, apparently, we’re going to need to save it a fourth time soon. I’ve lost a couple of friends, and they were demigods. They could defend themselves. They were trained to fight monsters. You’re just – you’re a regular mortal. You shouldn’t be dragged into my crazy world, Percy. I shouldn’t drag you in. Best case scenario is you’ll end up walking away. Worst case scenario is you end up dead.” She’s almost crying now. She can feel the lump growing in her throat and her eyes suddenly sting with tears. “It’s so hard for a demigod to get close to anyone, because we always end up losing them one way or another. And I think I could really come to care about you, and I don’t want to end up hurt. And I don’t want you to end up dead.”  
  
Percy looks stunned by this explanation. He finally pulls a Kleenex out of the box on the coffee table and passes it to Annabeth. She dabs at her eyes and blows her nose, but she doesn’t feel any better.   
  
“Annabeth,” Percy begins, rolling his tongue over the syllables of her name as if savoring it, “I’ve always been in danger. You know I can see through the Mist. I’ve always been able to see monsters, and when they know you can see them, you immediately become their target. I may not be a demigod, but I’ve definitely had to battle a few monsters in my life.”  
  
“How’re you still alive?” she sniffles.  
  
He shrugs. “I guess I’m lucky. And I’m fast.”  
  
“Monsters aren’t supposed to go after mortals.”  
  
“Well, they went after me. Always have.”  
  
Annabeth eyes him. “Are you sure you’re not a demigod? You’re positive your dad isn’t – “  
  
“I’m sure,” Percy says flatly. “There’s no way. He died when I was three.”  
  
“Oh.” So he was old enough to have a vague memory of his dad. “And your mom – “  
  
“No, she’s a mortal. But she can see through the Mist as well. Like I said, she calls it a gift. So maybe one of the gods took a liking to my family at some point and decided to give us a present.”  
  
Which is always a possibility. The gods never really think about how their gifts might affect the humans who receive them. The gifts tend to attract danger and monsters, and it would explain why Percy has always had to deal with the latter. He doesn’t have to be a demigod for that, Annabeth figures. But he’s still in some form of danger. So even if he isn’t hanging out with her, he’ll probably still come face to face with another monster at some point in the near future. He might not have to save the other mortals, but his life will still be at risk. At least if he’s with Annabeth, she might be able to protect him.  
  
“I mean…” she’s trying to figure out how to say this next part, “you’ve always had to deal with monsters?”  
  
Percy nods. “Maybe not my whole life. But once I hit about 10 I started seeing them on a regular basis. They didn’t always bother me, but when they did, I had to know how to defend myself. My mom taught me.”  
  
“Your mom.”  
  
He smirks. “My mom’s as much a badass as you are. Trust me, she trained me well.”  
  
Annabeth leans back against the cushions. She doesn’t doubt this. If everything Percy says is true, then he'd have to know how to fight in order to survive. But she’s still a little hesitant.  
  
“It doesn’t matter if I’m around you or not,” Percy points out. “If you hadn’t been on the train on Friday, I still would have run into the gorgons.”  
  
“I just don’t want you to worry about me,” Annabeth sighs.  
  
“Well, too fucking bad. Because I think I could really come to care about you, too, and you worry about the people you care about, especially when they’re putting themselves in danger. But I guess that’s just part of being a part of this world.”  
  
“Yeah,” Annabeth agrees, “I guess it is.”  
  



	4. What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Want You More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the wonderful response for the last chapter! This next one was super fun to write, and I hope it's as much fun to read. The chapter title comes from Taylor Swift's song "Cruel Summer". Please enjoy! 💕

Much to Annabeth’s surprise, they’re able to get through the rest of the weekend without another monster incident. She’s very much relieved, because it gives her some time to relax, but she can’t help feeling a little suspicious, since it seems like whatever is influencing the monsters is just _waiting_.  
  
But the thing is, she can’t bring herself to complain. It would be stupid anyway, especially since she’s settling into a life that feels almost normal. It’s October now, and the leaves on the trees glow red and orange. There’s a nip in the air, and every couple days Piper exclaims that it’s going to snow. It doesn’t, but Piper grew up in southern California, so it makes sense that she’d be overly excited about snow, even after living on the east coast for the last few years. In the meantime, Annabeth begins spending more time with Percy. It starts off as little things – studying in the library together after he gets off work; her wandering into the coffeeshop when she knows he’s there and sitting at a table until he’s able to take a break and join her; occasionally running into each other at the gym and challenging the other to push their limits. And then it becomes a little more. They begin walking to their respective classes together. A couple times he joins her and Piper for takeout. And when a monster finally does attack a nearby town, he’s waiting for Annabeth and Piper when they get back to Blue Ridge with food. He even sneaks them into the hot tub inside the pool building so their tired muscles can rest. He’s a well-liked member of the swim team, so none of the night watchmen even blink an eye when they see him hustling Piper in (Annabeth had the forethought to wear her Yankees cap). Jason pops in and out every few days, and while Piper doesn’t say anything, Annabeth knows he’s spending the occasional night in her best friend’s bed.  
  
When she mentions this to Percy as they sit in front of her TV, eating Thai food and flipping through channels, he laughs. “I don’t really know anything about minor gods, but it sounds like he still has a thing for Piper.”  
  
“I don’t know whether I should be worried about this or not,” she tells him. “I’m pretty sure Jason isn’t supposed to be seeing Piper unless he’s passing messages to us. And I don’t know how she’s supposed to get over him if he keeps showing up.”  
  
“Maybe she doesn’t want to get over him,” Percy suggests. “Maybe seeing him makes her happy, even if she can’t have him completely. Maybe to her it’s worth it, even if it hurts a little bit.”  
  
It’s not something that’s really occurred to Annabeth – that Piper might not be _ready_ to get over Jason. That she doesn’t mind the pain if it means she can have some piece of Jason, no matter how risky or dangerous it is.  
  
“It’s going to end badly,” Annabeth finally says. “It’s a tumultuous relationship. It already kind of was, but this is really kicking it up a few notches.”  
  
Percy shrugs and helps himself to a spring roll. “Some people like the tumultuous relationships. It makes them feel alive.”  
  
“I don’t know why. It seems like it’d be miserable.”  
  
“Highs and lows can be a serious adrenaline rush. And love isn’t linear anyway.”  
  
Annabeth raises an eyebrow. She can’t say that she’s had much experience with love, and whether or not it's linear isn’t something she’s ever really thought about. “Care to explain?”  
  
Percy reaches for the remote and puts the TV on mute, before dipping his spring roll into his little container of soy sauce. He takes a bite and chews thoughtfully. “Love isn’t the way it’s usually portrayed in books and movies. Like oh, they got together so now it’s going to be a happily ever after. It’s a lot of work. People change and grow up. Sometimes they grow apart. And relationships are a lot of work. Besides needing to make time for each other, you have to be able to compromise. You can’t be selfish,” he says quietly. “You have to be willing to work with the other person. And you need to be able to find common ground.”  
  
Annabeth leans back against the couch as she forks some noodles into her mouth. She thinks of her dad and stepmom, who seem to spend half their time fighting and the other half living on cloud nine. They’re definitely an example of a tumultuous relationship, of a relationship pebbled with faults and problems. But they make it work somehow. Annabeth used to think they muddled along for her brothers, but now she’s wondering if maybe they really do love each other. And then she thinks about Reyna and Thalia, who can’t possibly work out because Thalia is the freaking lieutenant of The Hunters. But maybe they don’t care. Maybe Thalia is already considering leaving The Hunters of Artemis. Maybe Reyna is willing to wait until Thalia is sure of what she wants. And that brings her back to Piper and Jason. She’s been saying that Jason doesn’t act like a minor god, and now she’s considering the possibility that maybe it’s because he’s still in love with Piper. The gods are infamous for falling in love with mortals, but Annabeth has always been skeptical of that. She thinks more than likely it’s lust or infatuation, not true love. And Jason maybe proves that notion, because no matter what his faults are, he’s always truly loved Piper. And maybe he still does. Maybe that’s what’s tethering him to his humanity, even though he’s now immortal. Maybe that’s why he cares so much, because of that love. It’s a sweet thought, but also kind of sad, because who knows what will happen if and when Piper decides she’s had enough? Or if she – gods, Annabeth doesn’t even want to think about it – gets killed? Will Jason insist on Zeus turning her into a minor goddess? Or will he just let Piper go on to Elysium and rest?  
  
“You know a lot about love,” Annabeth finally comments.  
  
Percy cracks a smile. “I’ve seen a lot.”  
  
“Such as?”  
  
“Well, my mom and stepdad for one thing. My first stepdad,” he says quickly. “He was a total asshole. Treated my mom like shit. He eventually got arrested for embezzlement and fraud, and my mom divorced him. Then she married my current stepdad. Paul’s a really good guy,” Percy adds softly. “Probably the only guy in the world whose good enough for my mom.”  
  
Annabeth smiles at that. She’s hoping to meet Sally Jackson someday, but she knows she and Percy aren’t at that point yet.  
  
“They love each other so damn much. But that hasn’t been linear. The first year of their relationship was pretty good, but as they got more and more serious, my mom started having problems. She and Paul ended up going into couple’s therapy before they even got married. They’re in a really good place now, but sometimes they still have problems. It frustrates Paul to no end that my mom takes a little bit of her paycheck and hides it, and it upsets my mom when Paul splurges on something she doesn’t think they can afford.”  
  
Annabeth frowns sadly. She recognizes the signs of PTSD from an abusive relationship, and she can’t help but wonder how Percy was affected. It sounds like his stepdad did a number on his mom, and there is no way that Percy was able to come out unscathed.  
  
“And I’ve had a couple of relationships,” Percy adds, and Annabeth almost drops her takeout box. Of course he has. It’s not like she’s surprised. But it’s not something they’ve gotten around to talking about.  
  
 _It's not like it matters_ , she tells herself sternly. _We’re not together_.  
  
But they want to be. They both know they want to be, even if it hasn’t been completely, openly acknowledged.  
  
“And what did you learn from them?” Annabeth inquires, managing to save her takeout box. She helps herself to some more noodles, even though her appetite has vanished. She mostly just wants something to do with her hands while he talks about past girlfriends. For the first time, she wonders if one of them could still be in the picture. The thought churns her stomach until it’s sour, and the noodles suddenly taste like cardboard.  
  
“That sometimes people aren’t meant to be, no matter how hard you try to force it,” he says. “And that sometimes there’s never going to be a right time to get together, so you might as well just work with what you’ve got instead of just waiting around.”  
  
Annabeth is curious about what that last comment is about, but she doesn’t really want to ask. It sounds like there’s a deeper story behind the throwaway remark, and it’s not something she particularly wants to get into tonight. But she supposes she should ask something about his relationships, since she’s hoping to forge one with him herself.  
  
“How many girlfriends have you had?” she asks casually. She’s not about to go hunt them down or anything, but she is wondering what their names are and where they live and if she can threaten them away from Percy on social media or if she’s going to have to actually go find them in person. And then she realizes that that’s not normal behavior and maybe she needs to just chill the fuck out.  
  
“Three,” Percy tells her. “One in middle school, and two in high school. The third relationship lasted all the way into my freshman year of college, but it ended a couple months in.”  
  
“I’m sorry.”  
  
Percy shrugs. “It’s not a big deal. We broke up almost two years ago now.”  
  
“And you haven’t dated since?”  
  
“I’ve gone out with a couple girls, but nothing seemed promising. No chemistry,” he adds as an explanation.  
  
Annabeth wants to protest and say that that shouldn’t matter, but she knows it does. Chemistry, physical attraction, whatever, is very important to a relationship.  
  
“What about you?” Percy asks. “How many relationships?”  
  
“I’ve dated a couple of boys from Camp Half-Blood,” Annabeth says. “Nothing too serious, though. It can be kind of hard to get into a serious relationship when you’re constantly having to leave camp to go save the world.”  
  
“It seems like you’d be more into having a serious relationship,” Percy observes. “I know if it was me, I’d want to know that there was someone I could come home to.”  
  
“None of us knew what was going to happen, if we were even going to survive the next twenty-four hours.” Annabeth finally sets her food aside and curls up on the couch. “We didn’t want to start something just to lose it.”  
  
“So nothing ever really happened with those guys?”  
  
She shakes her head. “Not much, no. I don’t even know where they are now. I know they’re not at Camp Half-Blood, but that’s about it. And I’m not too curious about it either. It’s been years since I’ve seen either one.”  
  
“That seems kinda sad.”  
  
Annabeth shrugs. “I’ve never really had the time to date. Not even now that I’m in college.”  
  
“You seem to have time to hang out with me,” Percy points out, and her lips twitch.  
  
“I guess we make time for the things that matter to us.”  
  
“Speaking of which, some guys on the swim team are throwing a party on Saturday. If you’re not busy killing monsters and saving the world, would you and Piper like to come?”  
  
Annabeth smiles for real. She can’t remember the last time she attended an actual college party. She thinks it might’ve been her freshman year, but she’s not a hundred percent sure.  
  
“Yeah, I’d love to.”  
  
“Cool.” He pauses. “Have you actually ever been to a college party?”  
  
Annabeth glares at him. “Of course. It’s been awhile, but I’ve gone.”  
  
He holds up his hands in the surrender pose. “I’m just checking! You’re so busy being Supergirl that half the time I’m not even sure how you have time to go to class.”  
  
“I never miss class,” she says pristinely, and he smirks.  
  
“ _That_ I can believe.”  
  
She whacks him with a throw pillow, and he has the audacity to laugh at her. And in that moment, Annabeth knows that no matter what happens, she doesn’t want to live without him. And doesn’t that just freaking _suck_?

* * *

When Annabeth tells Piper about the party, Piper immediately claps her hands together and insists this is the perfect excuse to go shopping. When Piper was a teenager, she hated shopping with a passion. But as she’s gotten older, she’s become something of a shopping guru. She’s amazing at spotting a good deal, and she always seems to know what’s going to look best on whoever her target is – in this case, Annabeth.  
  
They go monster hunting on Wednesday evening, the day after Percy invited them to the party. Then they have to catch up on their homework on Thursday. On Friday after classes, Piper drags Annabeth to the local mall. Annabeth hates malls. She despises the fluorescent lights, the overly bright colors, and the loud pop music that seems to blare from every single store they pass. All the sales associates are either teenagers working there as an after-school job, or middle-aged woman who have nothing better to do than to coo over Annabeth and Piper and tell them how _gorgeous_ and _precious_ they are. Piper assures Annabeth that there are some college students who work in the stores, but Annabeth has yet to see anyone who’s between the ages of 18 and 40.  
  
For some reason, they can’t seem to find anything that Piper deems party-worthy and suitable for Annabeth. The stores aimed at teenagers are too young and frilly, and the stores aimed at older woman only carry clothes that look like something used as seat covers.  
  
“Oooh, let’s go into this store, I love this place,” Piper says, pointing out a store that Annabeth knows was well-known a few years ago, but has since closed down a lot of shops. She nevertheless follows Piper in. This store is classier than the junior ones, but not as floral and flowing as the missus shops. The clothes are trendy enough to appeal to the younger set, but elegant enough that women older than, say, 25 will be willing to shop here.  
  
Annabeth immediately relaxes. This is definitely more her kind of place. She’s never been one for wearing the stupid clothes that so many of her classmates seem to like, but she also doesn’t want to dress like her stepmom. She’s aware that this place is a little on the pricier side, but Camp Half-Blood gives them an “allowance” each month (really, it’s their pay for making the world a safer place) and it’s pretty hefty. Annabeth can definitely afford to splurge here a little bit.  
  
A well-dressed saleswoman saunters up to them. Her black dress is elegant and perfectly cut to show off her slim figure, without being too sultry. She’s wearing high black boots, and black nylons. When she moves, there’s an odd clanking sound, but Annabeth guesses it’s probably the copious amount of jewelry she’s got tangled around her wrists and neck.  
  
She does a doubletake when she looks at them, but quickly recovers. She flashes a bright smile. “What can I help you ladies with today?”  
  
“We’re shopping for my friend,” Piper says cheerfully. “We’ve got a party we’re going to tomorrow, and she needs something to wear. Uh, preferably something a little sexy.”  
  
Annabeth fights back a blush. She definitely wants to make Percy drool a little and maybe stammer, but she also doesn’t want to feel exposed or naked. Sexy isn’t really something she’s gotten familiar with.  
  
The saleswoman stands back and gives Annabeth the onceover. “I believe I am correct in guessing that you prefer the more classic look?”  
  
Annabeth nods. “That’s right. I don’t like anything too flashy. Something simple will work.”  
  
“I have just the thing.” She leads Annabeth back through the store, to a collection of black dresses. “The LBD – little black dress. You can’t go wrong with it.”  
  
“Oh,” Annabeth hems, “I don’t know.”  
  
“No, she’s right,” Piper says encouragingly. “A little black dress would be perfect for you.”  
  
“How about this one?” The saleswoman pulls one out, and Annabeth’s jaw drops. It’s gorgeous. It’s pure black with spaghetti straps and a bandage bodice and skirt. She’s sure it’s going to be nearly impossible to move in, but she already loves it and she needs to know how it fits.  
  
“Ooooh yes.” Another saleswoman drifts over. Once again, Annabeth hears the weird clanking sound, and she gets a faint whiff of…a barnyard? She hopes that’s not an example of the perfume they sell here, because if so, this store is definitely charging way too much. “Yes, my dear. That will look so lovely on you! Oh, and you need shoes to go with it!” She hurries away and the clanking increases. Annabeth’s spidey senses are beginning to tingle, and judging by the way Piper’s eyes are narrowing, she’s not the only one thinking that there’s something odd going on.  
  
The second saleswoman hastens back, holding a pair of ankle boots with two-inch heels. Annabeth hates heels. She can never walk in them. But these ones are kind of chunky, and they’re not too high, so maybe there’s hope after all. Besides, she’s too busy trying to figure out what kind of monsters these two are to be concerned with whether or not she’ll be able to walk without twisting her ankle tomorrow night.  
  
The saleswomen insist on picking out a strapless bra and matching underwear set for Annabeth, which honestly just feels like an invasion of privacy. But Annabeth doesn’t currently own a strapless bra, and she figures if she’s going to wear anything interesting, she’s probably going to need one. The saleswomen usher her and Piper into a fitting room, and Annabeth locks the wooden door behind her.  
  
“They’re _empousai_ ,” Annabeth hisses.  
  
“Don’t they prey on men?” Piper demands in a whisper.  
  
“Usually, yes, but I suppose they can pick up plenty of men here. A lot of women drag their boyfriends and husbands along when they go shopping.”  
  
“Have you ever fought them?”  
  
Annabeth shakes her head. “But I think they can be killed the normal way.”  
  
“Good. Now try on the dress and shoes. We don’t want them to get suspicious.”  
  
And so Annabeth tries on the outfit, including the strapless bra. And she has to admit, it looks pretty damn good.  
  
There’s a tap on the door. “Annabeth, dear,” calls one of the saleswomen, “how does it look?”  
  
Annabeth and Piper exchange looks. They haven’t used the other’s name at all while in this store. Luckily both girls carry their daggers in their purses, and it’s a matter of pulling their celestial bronze knives out.  
  
Gripping the hilt, Annabeth calls back, “Oh, it looks great. Would you like to see?”  
  
“As a matter of fact, I would!”  
  
Annabeth unlocks the door and yanks it open. She finds herself face to face with the first saleswoman. The Mist had apparently been working for the _empousa_ , because now Annabeth can see that she has mismatched legs that aren’t quite hidden under her boots – one bronze leg, and one horse leg. Her eyes seem to be made up of dancing flames, but Annabeth isn’t impressed. She’s seen cooler tricks.  
  
“Wow,” she states as she looks at the _empousa_ , “those legs must make it hard to shop for jeans.” And then she lunges, aiming her dagger at the _empousa’s_ chest. But the _empousa_ is quick, and she grips Annabeth’s wrists, pushing them back. Piper darts in, just as the other _empousa_ swoops around to help her friend. Annabeth is aware of Piper engaging in battle with the second _empousa_ , but right now she’s focused on the one she just tried to stab. She can feel the _empousa_ trying to kick at her, but Annabeth keeps dodging. Even in these damn heels she can still move pretty fast. She manages to shove the _empousa_ off her, sending her crashing into the wall.  
  
A customer pokes her head out of the changing room, holding up a blouse. “Um, excuse me? Do you have this in a size six?”  
  
“She’ll check for you once we’re finished fighting,” Annabeth grits out.  
  
The customer lets out a huffy breath. “I guess I’ll just go check myself.” She storms past them and even cuts between Piper and the other _empousa_. There’s a long moment where they all just stare at the woman, completely nonplussed.  
  
Annabeth recovers first. She aims a kick at the _empousa_ , who’s just beginning to stir. The _empousa_ grabs her leg, yanking her down. They tussle on the ground, and Annabeth is able to pin the monster under her. She brings her dagger through the _empousa’s_ chest, and the monster crumbles into dust.  
  
Annabeth picks herself up, brushing off the dress, just as Piper kicks the _empousa_ she’s been fighting through the wall. The monster crashes down onto a pile of clothes hangers behind the registers, and Piper leaps after her. A swoop of Katoptris, and the monster has disintegrated.  
  
A door opens in the very back of the store, and a woman who Annabeth can only assume is the manager comes walking out, looking very annoyed. “What is all this racket? I was on a conference call!”  
  
“Your saleswomen started fighting, and even broke the wall,” Piper says, loading her words with charmspeak. “I think they’re gone now.”  
  
The manager groans. “It’s so hard to find good help these days.”  
  
Annabeth decides to buy the outfit. She figures it’s only right, since she just went through a battle with it. Besides, as she tells Piper once they leave the partially demolished store, at least she knows she can fight in it.  
  
Piper agrees that this is a major selling point, and offers to buy Annabeth a cinnamon roll to make up for dragging her into a store that employs vampire-demons. Annabeth can’t say no to that, so off they head to the Cinnabon, hoping not to meet another monster until after the party tomorrow night.

* * *

Annabeth discovers that the very best thing about bandage dresses is that they hide _everything_. And she’s not talking about the lumps and bumps that every woman has. She’s talking about the fact that she’s got her dagger strapped to her thigh under her dress, and she can’t even tell. And this dress is tight. It falls to just below midthigh, which is good because if it was any higher Annabeth would not be able to conceal her dagger at all. But it’s the perfect length, it’s somehow functional, and it’s sexy, so Annabeth figures it checks off all the marks. Plus with the boots and a denim jacket, she’s able to pull off a casual vibe while still looking like she put in some sort of effort.  
  
Piper wears a pair of skinny jeans and a halter top. When Annabeth demands to know why she couldn’t have worn a similar ensemble, Piper shrugs and says it doesn’t suit her. Annabeth’s beginning to think that Piper just wanted to go to the mall to torment her.  
  
The party is across campus, and they consider driving, but their parking passes don’t count towards other student housing. And the Stoll brothers are in one of the campus houses.  
  
So the girls make the cross-campus journey on foot, and Annabeth has to admit that even though her feet are already starting to hurt, they could be in a lot worse pain. And so she sucks it up, because she’s about to see Percy and she’s hoping maybe tonight’s the night he’ll ask her out.  
  
Hey, a girl can dream, right?  
  
They reach the campus street the Stoll brothers live on, and it’s immediately clear which house is theirs. Loud music is booming from the house, and college students mill about on the front lawn, clutching beer cans and cracking jokes. Annabeth and Piper exchange looks, and Annabeth suddenly has the sense that she’s completely out of her depth. But she’s also got Piper with her, so that has to count for something.  
  
She texts Percy to let him know they’ve arrived, and then stows her phone in the strap fastened around her other thigh, because she’s nothing if not multifunctional.  
  
A moment later, Percy comes out of the house, and fucking hell he looks good. He’s wearing skinny jeans and a button-down shirt with the shirt sleeves rolled up. He’s got his piercings in, and he’s wearing high top Converse sneakers. Annabeth can’t remember ever being more attracted to someone. She just hopes he feels the same way.  
  
Judging by the way his eyes widen and it takes him a couple tries to speak, he does. He’s finally able to tell her that she looks amazing without stuttering too much.  
  
“Doesn’t she?” Piper agrees. “And we only had to kill two saleswomen to procure the dress. Oh, I know that girl, she’s in my history class.” She hikes it inside, leaving Annabeth with a very confused Percy.  
  
“Why did you have to commit murder in order to procure a dress?” Percy wants to know. He makes the question sound reasonable, even though Annabeth is aware that in most circumstances it would be absolutely insane. But that’s one of the things she loves about him – he just goes with the flow.  
  
“The saleswomen were monsters. Literally. So we had to kill them. Bright side though, I can fight in this dress.”  
  
Percy shrugs, says, “That’s good,” and then offers to get her a drink. She agrees, and he takes her hand in his. She can feel herself turning to Jell-O, and it’s a good thing he’s leading the way because she’s pretty sure she would get lost in about five seconds. The house is dark save for about a million disco balls, and some kids are playing Guitar Hero in the living room. Percy brings her to the kitchen, where he introduces her to their hosts, Travis and Connor Stoll. Annabeth is fairly sure she’s seen them at Camp Half-Blood, and judging by the surprised looks on their faces they recognize her too. But neither rats the other out.  
  
Percy knows Annabeth doesn’t really like drinking, so he finds a can of sparkling water for her. He even questions the Stolls sternly to make sure that no one shook it up recently. When he’s certain it’s safe, he passes it to Annabeth who pops the tab. Since the can doesn’t explode, she takes a long sip. Perfect.  
  
Somehow going through the party with Percy is easy. He introduces her to the rest of the swim team. He does his best to play it cool, but Annabeth can hear the notes of pride and excitement when he says, “This is Annabeth.” He doesn’t say anything about her killing monsters or saving the world. Instead he explains to his friends that she’s majoring in architecture and that she’s the girl who nearly killed his GPA back in their freshman year. He brags up her intelligence, and Annabeth finds herself leaning into him. It’s nice to be with someone who thinks the world should know how smart she is. She flashes back to one of the demigods she dated at Camp Half-Blood. He spent most of their short-lived relationship boasting to his buddies about how he was dating the girl who had just saved the world. The fact that she was a daughter of Athena was just a plus. And he never mentioned that she had a perfect high school GPA, despite the fact that half the time she couldn’t attend class because she was too busy running battle strategy meetings. Annabeth suspects that if she mentioned this last bit to Percy, he would figure out a way to work it into the conversation without giving her away as a demigod.  
  
Moments like these though make Annabeth wonder what it’s like for Percy. He’s pretty firmly lodged in the regular world, but he’s got a foot in the door of hers. He’s not a demigod – he doesn’t have any special powers or super-intelligence that might save his life – but he’s not a regular mortal, not entirely. She figures it must be frustrating for him at times, to be aware that both worlds exist but only be able to peek into the one. And when that happens, it’s just long enough for him to aid and abet with the problem. He never gets credit for it. And that doesn’t seem fair.  
  
They’re a couple hours into the party when a group of what Annabeth suspects are frat boys come busting into the house. They’re already drunk and they’re _huge_. She’s seen some tall guys in her life, but these guys are nearly seven feet tall and are easily in the three-hundred pound range. She guesses they’re football players, because that’s the only possible explanation as to why they’re so big – they’re on steroids, duh.  
  
And then she sees Percy frowning at them, and her stomach drops. Maybe there is another explanation, one she doesn’t like.  
  
She places her hand on Percy’s arm. “What do you see?”  
  
“I don’t recognize those guys,” Percy states. “And even if I did…there’s something not right about them. At all.” He moves a little closer, and Annabeth follows. “Their teeth are yellow and pointed. They’re really tall. And those are some very disturbing tattoos. I think I just went through sex ed 2.0.”  
  
Annabeth doesn’t see any of what Percy just described, except for the tall part. And even that seems like an exaggeration on his part. But Percy doesn’t really exaggerate. And so Annabeth asks, “How tall do you think they are?”  
  
“I don’t even know. Eight feet maybe? Their heads are almost touching the ceiling.”  
  
And just like that, Annabeth knows what they’re dealing with. And she doesn’t like it.  
  
So much for no more monster attacks before tomorrow.  
  
Annabeth narrows her eyes, focusing on cutting through the Mist. She needs to be completely certain that they’re monsters before she starts attacking football-playing frat boys. The thing about the Mist is that most regular mortals can’t see through it at all. Percy and his mom are two very rare exceptions to the rule. Demigods _can_ see through the Mist, but they usually have to do something to shatter the illusion. Annabeth discovered awhile back that if she focuses on the magical deception, she’s able to see the full picture. But if she’s not expecting it, if she’s not planning on it, then she’s just as bushwhacked as everyone else.  
  
But right now her gaze is cutting through the Mist like a laser, and suddenly those huge frat boys are literal giants. And they’re ugly. And they stink like the Underworld in the middle of August. And yeah, those tattoos are definitely redefining female anatomy.  
  
Percy glances at her. “What are they?”  
  
“Laistrygonian Giants.”  
  
“Does that translate to English?”  
  
Before Annabeth can respond, the giants are on the move. They’re loudly talking in broken sentences about getting more beer. One of them wants corn nuts, which is definitely not going to help their smell.  
  
“Damn it,” Percy mutters as they follow the giants. “Monster smell _and_ corn nuts? I hope they don’t breathe on me.”  
  
Annabeth fights back a laugh. She pulls out her phone – Percy nearly walks into the wall when he sees where she’s been keeping it – and tries to call Piper, but of course the noise is too loud for Piper to hear her ringtone. She tries texting her, but no luck. And Piper isn’t anywhere in sight.  
  
Annabeth glances around for the Stoll brothers, but they’ve vanished. Which means Annabeth and Percy are on their own.  
  
A crowd of drunken sorority girls suddenly blocks them, and by the time Annabeth and Percy are able to shove their way through the cloud of perfume and body glitter, the giants have vanished. And they’re _giants_. That’s not exactly an easy accomplishment.  
  
Sudden yells and a series of crashes in the kitchen point Annabeth and Percy in the right direction.  
  
The kitchen is a disaster area. The fridge is overturned, bowls of chips have been knocked to the floor, and a scrawny kid is hanging by his shirt from the chandelier. One quick glance tells Annabeth that the kid is still alive, if a little shocked. His buddies are trying to figure out how to get him down, but they’re so drunk Annabeth is pretty sure the kid will be up there until morning.   
  
“Did a bunch of drunken frat boys come through here?” she asks the kids.  
  
“How do you think I got up here?” demands the guy hanging from the chandelier. “We’re running low on corn nuts and they threw a fit. Bunch of little bitches.”  
  
“That’s the best news I’ve heard all evening,” Percy announces. “At least now they won’t have corn nut breath when they try to kill people. That’s one less weapon in their arsenal.”  
  
“ _What_?” the kid demands sharply, but both Annabeth and Percy just shake their heads. The kid’s friends are wondering loudly if they can use bungee cords to get their buddy down, and Annabeth is pretty sure this isn’t going to end well.  
  
Annabeth is now presented with a dilemma. She doesn’t want to go up against the giants by herself, but she also doesn’t want to drag Percy into battle. And she kind of thinks he’s needed here more. At least he’s sober enough to figure out how to get the kid down without strangling him or causing the chandelier to collapse.  
  
She turns to Percy. “I need to go after them,” she says, even though she knows it’s totally obvious. “Can you stay and help them get the kid down?”  
  
Percy nods. “Be safe.”  
  
“Thanks. You too.” She figures if she’s leaving him with a bunch of drunken college students who think bungee cords are the solution for getting their friend down from the chandelier than she should probably make sure he’s being careful.  
  
Another nod from Percy, and Annabeth knows she has to leave _now_ if she’s going to catch up to the giants. She takes off through the backdoor, pausing just long enough to yank her dagger out. She wonders if she’ll ever see Percy again – she wonders if she’s going to survive this encounter with a bunch of giants. How many were there? Four? Five?  
  
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck, _fuck_.  
  
She hates giants. She hates Laistrygonian Giants. And she hates anything that dares to disturb what was supposed to be the night Percy asks her out. She’d much rather be inside the house flirting with Percy instead of chasing down a bunch of giants with really bad breath, but it’s her duty as a demigod.  
  
She mutters a few more cuss words under her breath as she follows the reek of sewage and alcohol. They’re rounding the student housing center building, and it’s not an area she’s super familiar with. She’s really hoping she’s not going to round a corner only to find herself face to face with an overflowing dumpster, but as she speeds up, she realizes she can hear them. They’re laughing and shouting, and to add to their list of offenses, they’re catcalling various women.  
  
And they’re not even being creative.  
  
When Annabeth hears one of them holler, “Nice rack!” at a girl who’s clearly just coming back from the gym, she swears once and for all that she’s going to take out these misogynistic sexist drunk frat boy giants.  
  
The problem: She’s all by herself armed with only a dagger.  
  
She decides to add a couple more _fucks_ to the mix, especially as she accidentally kicks a large pebble, sure it’ll tip them off that they’re being followed. It doesn’t, mainly because they’re stupid, but still. This whole situation is hopeless.  
  
But no. She’s Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. She’s fucking smart, damn it. She’ll kill these giants if it means luring them into a dumpster and lighting it on fire. Which, come to think of it, maybe isn’t a bad idea. Although aren’t they supposed to be immune to fire?  
  
Shit. Well, at least they aren’t carrying their iron clubs.  
  
Except they are. She doesn’t know if they had them the entire time they were in the party, or if they just reappeared or what, but suddenly they are, in fact, carrying clubs which are roughly the length of her body.  
  
She wishes she’d thought to bring her Yankees cap with her. Then she could turn invisible and maybe trick them into insulting each other, therefore starting a fight. But she’s got nothing except her dagger and her cell phone.  
  
Hmmm…her cell phone…  
  
Her garter belts…  
  
Wait a minute. Hadn’t she just kicked a large pebble?  
  
She shoves her phone down the front of her dress for safe keeping, praying the strapless Wonderbra is actually worth what she paid for it, and reaches under her dress to undo the garter belt-type strap she’d been using. She pins her dagger in the messy-on-purpose-just-got-out-of-bed ponytail that Piper helped her fashion, and undoes the other strap. A few adjustments to both, and she’s got a fairly decent slingshot.  
  
Carefully keeping the giants in sight, she reaches down and finds a particularly large pebble – it’s more of a rock. It’s not much, but it’ll do. She wraps it in the straps and lets it loose.  
  
Thank the gods she learned how to use a slingshot years ago, because her aim is on point. She hits the closest one, right in the nose.  
  
He hollers, face suddenly a mess of golden ichor, and Annabeth releases a second rock, and then a third. Within seconds the giants’ faces are ruined; their noses are broken, their eyes are puffy, they’ve dropped their clubs, and they sure as hell can’t see when she suddenly springs at them, dagger firmly in hand.  
  
She stabs one in the chest and he dissolves. Another one tries to creep up on her, but he’s too busy trying to breathe through a broken nose that it doesn’t work so well. Before she can move, however, a familiar voice hollers, “Hey, corn breath!”  
  
Annabeth’s heart swells and her stomach is suddenly filled with butterflies. Percy emerges from around the corner, holding a baseball bat. He looks _pissed_.  
  
“Who said that?” one of the giants whimpers. “Who’s corn breath?”  
  
“That would be you,” Percy snarls, and he takes advantage of their confusion by taking a running leap and whipping the baseball bat around. They can maybe just see well enough to spot the mortal boy attacking them with a piece of sporting equipment, but they can’t see well enough to try to crush him. Annabeth jabs her dagger into the arm of the one who’d tried to sneak up behind her, slicing through the muscles and veins. He screams, and Annabeth reaches down, picking up one of the iron clubs. She swings it the way Percy is swinging his baseball bat, and makes direct contact with his stomach. He’s brought to his knees, and a quick stab through the chest ends him. The giant vanishes in a poof of dust.  
  
In the meantime, Percy’s engaging with the giant who was confused about the insult, and from the looks of things Percy’s gotten a few good whacks in. Annabeth leaps in while the giant is on the ground and finishes him off, while Percy moves on to the remaining giants.  
  
The battle is over moments later. Between Percy beating them up with a baseball bat and Annabeth slicing them up with a dagger, those giants never stood a chance.  
  
Silence falls like rain as the last echoes of the battle wash away. Annabeth is breathing hard, and Percy certainly looks winded. In the glow of the streetlamps, his green eyes sparkle, and she’s pretty sure he’s just had the time of his life.  
  
The iron clubs have vanished, and there’s no trace left of the giants. It’s almost like it never happened.  
  
But as Annabeth meets Percy’s gaze, she knows it did. His eyes aren’t sparkling so much anymore. Instead, he’s looking at her deeply, intensely. Her heart pounds harder in her ribcage, and she swallows. She’s not sure what she’s expecting, but there’s something about the way he’s staring down at her that makes her simultaneously want to run for the hills and drag him off to her apartment to have her way with him.  
  
She stays rooted to the spot.  
  
“Annabeth.” His voice is deep, husky. Heat pools in the pit of her stomach, and she knows she’s a goner. All she can do is hold his gaze and hope that whatever is about to happen, he goes easy on her.  
  
And then his lips are crashing against hers and her fingers are scrabbling up his neck, into his hair. She’s back against the brick wall of the student housing center, his body pinned against hers. She can feel his hands on her hips, hitching her dress up, and his tongue is suddenly in her mouth, sweeping across her teeth as if trying to memorize every inch. She tugs on his hair, but it’s not to get him to ease up. She wants more, _needs_ more. His teeth are tugging on her lower lip, and she know she’s melting in his arms. She’s never been one to stand back and be submissive, but she suddenly realizes how desperately she’s needed someone to take care of her, to _want_ her. Percy wants her. She can feel _that_ , pressing against her hip.  
  
And then her phone rings, breaking the spell.  
  
Percy pulls back, a look of reluctance on his face. Annabeth expects that it mirrors her expression.  
  
She yanks her phone out of her bra, enjoying the look on Percy’s face, and checks the caller ID. It’s Piper. Typical.  
  
She answers it with a, “Hey, about fucking time. You just missed a gang of Laistrygonian Giants. Percy had to help me kill them.”  
  
As Piper begins profusely apologizing and explaining why she didn’t answer her phone, Annabeth locks gazes with Percy. He looks like he wants to say something, maybe apologize, but she shakes her head and smiles. She likes him. And her first instinct may be to protect him, but he’s just proven he can hold his own. So maybe it’s time she let him into her world completely, instead of trying to hold him at arm’s length.  
  
It’s definitely something to think about.


	5. Just the Right Kind of Crazy, Baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title comes from "Nothin' Like You" by Dan and Shay.
> 
> It's been a hot minute since I updated anything. First work and personal drama were kicking my ass. Then I was planning a local trip and was gone for a week. Then there were were new developments in the personal drama and work continued to kick my ass. Plus everything else that's been going on. So to be honest, I haven't really written anything in a couple months. But with states and countries going back into lockdown, I wanted to get something updated. Enjoy this chapter 😊
> 
> Stay safe, everyone! ❤

After Annabeth hangs up with Piper, she turns to Percy. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to head back to the party.”  
  
What she really wants to do is make out with him for the rest of the night, but she figures they should probably discuss what that kiss means for their relationship before she’s letting him shove his tongue down her throat again.  
  
Besides, they need to meet up with Piper, who ran into yet another empousa in the bathroom at the party. Annabeth guesses that maybe the reason for all the monsters is because of the Stoll brothers, but she’s not sure that’s really the truth. They may be demigods, but they’re both over 18. They should not be sending up that strong a beacon for monsters. Annabeth supposes that hers and Piper’s presence didn’t help the matter any. She and Piper are both pretty powerful demigods, it’s true. They may not be daughters of The Big Three, but that doesn’t mean anything.  
  
But the thing is, Annabeth can count on one hand the number of monster attacks on campus in the last few years. Once or twice a year. Not two different types of monsters at a single house party.  
  
Annabeth is mulling over this on the walk back to the house. But as she glances at Percy, she thinks maybe there’s something more pleasant to consider. She reaches out and takes his hand in hers. He’s still carrying the baseball bat.  
  
“How did you find me?” she asks curiously.  
  
He grins. “I followed the battle sounds.”  
  
“And the baseball bat?”  
  
“I found it in the Stolls’ garage when I went looking for a ladder to get that kid down from the chandelier. He's fine, by the way, if a little shaken up.”  
  
Annabeth grins, too. “A baseball bat, huh? Very clever.”  
  
He shrugs offhandedly. “I just grabbed the first weaponlike thing. I figured it couldn’t hurt to be prepared. Tell me the truth. Am I going to have to start walking around armed? Because I don’t think a dagger is really my thing. Maybe a sword.”  
  
Annabeth laughs. “We can find you a sword, though you might stand out if you’re going to wear it with jeans and sneakers.”  
  
“It’ll dress up my jeans and sneakers, thank you very much,” he sniffs, and Annabeth laughs even harder. He's ridiculous and sassy and silly, and everything she never knew she needed.  
  
They’ve reached the house, but before they can go inside, she pulls him around to face her. She stands on tip toes and kisses him softly. “Thank you,” she whispers against his lips, “for coming after me. And just for being you.”  
  
His voice is rough when he answers her. “My pleasure.”  
  
She smiles and leads him into the house.  
  
They’re able to find Piper easily, but the Stoll brothers are nowhere in sight. That’s probably just as well. Annabeth’s a little annoyed with them for not vetting the guest list thoroughly enough.  
  
The three of them head back to Annabeth and Piper’s apartment, and Piper doesn’t question why Percy is along for the ride. When they get inside, Piper sets about making hot cocoa for all three of them.  
  
“So, we clearly have a problem,” she says, sitting down at the kitchen table with her mug of cocoa. “It’s one thing to find empousai at the mall. I mean, they had jobs, they could have just been trying to blend in until their next kill. But at a party? Along with Laistrygonian Giants?” She shakes her head. “I think it’s time to contact Chiron.”  
  
Annabeth can’t argue with that. Maybe Chiron will have some news for them, or some ideas for how they should handle this. But she’s also a little hesitant because she might have to explain Percy, and there is no way Chiron will be okay with her putting a mortal in danger, even if he’s a very willing mortal.  
  
Annabeth traces the designs on her mug with her finger, trying to figure out how to put her thoughts and fears into words. She’s not even sure there’s any point. Surely the safety of the world is more important than a possible relationship. But she wants to be selfish; she wants to have Percy for herself. She doesn’t want to give him up – and she doesn’t want him to have to give her up.  
  
“Wait a second,” Percy interjects, holding up a hand. “Chiron? As in _the_ Chiron? The one who used to train heroes?”  
  
Piper grins. “You know your Greek myths.”  
  
“I kind of had to learn them,” he shrugs. “So, is it that Chiron?”  
  
“Yeah, it’s that Chiron.”  
  
“But wouldn’t he be like five thousand years old or something?”  
  
“Something like that,” Piper agrees. “But he’s still training us.”  
  
Percy shakes his head, looking like his mind is absolutely blown for the first time since Annabeth’s met him. It amuses her that out of all the monsters he’s seen so far, the fact that Chiron is still alive is what confuses him.   
  
“When do you want to call Chiron?” Annabeth asks Piper, and Piper pulls out her phone.  
  
“Now.”  
  
And so they make the call. It turns out that Chiron isn’t too surprised by this. He’s had similar reports from other demigods all over the country. Apparently Leo, Calypso, and Reyna are getting hammered with monsters in California, and they’re just barely holding their own. It’s a depressing situation, made even worse because Chiron’s not sure why so many monsters are suddenly appearing. While there have always been monster attacks, mortals are almost never targeted. Any mortals who get injured or killed are usually considered casualties. But now they’re the victims.  
  
“The truth of the matter,” Chiron says heavily over the phone, “is that there just aren’t enough demigods right now to fight all the monsters. We have gone through three wars in five years, and we suffered heavy losses – especially in the last one.” No doubt he’s thinking of Jason, who was a huge loss to the entire demigod community. “We really have no way to get the monsters under control.”  
  
Annabeth clears her throat. “Do you know anything about the forces of chaos?”  
  
“I’m sorry, my dear, what did you say?”  
  
“The forces of chaos. My mom mentioned it to me in a dream a couple weeks ago.”  
  
“The forces of chaos…” Chiron turns the words over in his mouth, testing them out. “I assume she wasn’t simply using that term as a figure of speech.”  
  
“No, I don’t think she was.”  
  
“Oh dear. Well, if it is the Forces of Chaos – “ Suddenly the name sounds more forceful, more powerful, like the rumble of thunder that’s closing in “ – I will have to give some thought as to how to proceed. For the time being, your instructions are the same. Continue fighting, but remember your studies. We may be about to go through another war, but there is no reason we won’t prevail once more.”  
  
They hang up soon after. Annabeth’s hot cocoa tastes like sawdust now. Hearing Chiron predict another war somehow made this seem all the more real. There really is a problem, and it’s something they’re going to have to fight against. She just wants to lay her head down on the table and give up. She’s tired. She’s just so damn tired. Can’t the world just leave her alone for a year or two? Can’t it save itself?  
  
Piper picks herself up first. She looks as unhappy as Annabeth feels, but she doesn’t say anything. She wordlessly rinses out her mug and drags herself off to her room, leaving Annabeth with Percy.  
  
“So, things are bad,” Percy states. He rubs a hand over his face. “Three wars in five years? That’s insane.”  
  
“One of the wars was kind of short.”  
  
“I guess it’d have to be.” He looks at her. “What’re you going to do?”  
  
“What I’ve been doing, I guess. And when the time comes, I’ll fight. I’ll do my best to save the world. I always do.” The words come out as tired as she feels, and she sees a flare of sympathy in Percy’s eyes. He’s starting to comprehend what all this means, she realizes. He’s beginning to understand the consequences of being in her world, of fighting monsters, of possibly dating a demigod. It’s not fair, because they haven’t even begun a relationship. They’ve only kissed a couple times. But if he wants to walk away now, she won’t blame him. She’ll completely understand, and figure he’s got a decent sense of self-preservation.  
  
“Okay.” Percy places his hand over hers, covering it completely. “And I’ll be here to help you out when I can, and to try to shield you from the waves when I can’t.”  
  
“Are you sure?” Annabeth asks him intently. “Because we’ve got a war coming up, and I don’t know what’s going to happen. If you want to leave, if you don’t want this, I’ll completely understand.”  
  
He leans over and kisses her. It’s a soft kiss, a sweet one, and it says everything that neither of them are quite ready to. When he pulls back, he smiles at her. “I knew when I asked for your number that you’ll always be going off to fight monsters. And yeah, I worry about you, but that’s normal. If I’m not with you, if I walk away now, how the hell am I supposed to know if you’re okay or not? So yeah, I’m staying with you whether you like it or not. You’re stuck with me, Annabeth Chase. You’ve been stuck with me since that day on the train.”  
  
“Okay,” Annabeth finally agrees. “As long as you’re sure.”  
  
“Completely positive.” He pauses. “On one condition.”  
  
“Which is?”  
  
“Have dinner with me tomorrow evening.”  
  
She blinks. “Like a date?”  
  
“Like a date.”  
  
She breaks out into what is probably a ridiculously huge smile, but she doesn’t care. “I’d love to.”

* * *

The next evening she dresses more simply than the night before, preferring skinny jeans, her dressiest pair of combat boots, and a sweater under her favorite jacket. She’s got her dagger tucked into her right boot, and she’s managed to stuff her Yankees baseball cap into her purse. She’s learned her lesson after last night – she’s not getting trapped without it again.  
  
She and Piper haven’t spoken much since the night before. Piper slept in late, and then immediately headed to the library to try to get through some remaining homework. Annabeth texted her to let her know that she’s going out with Percy, and Piper responds with, **details when u get home!!!!!!!!**  
  
It seems like an excessive use of exclamation marks, but Annabeth is used to Piper’ texting. She’s a very enthusiastic texter, and Annabeth is pleased that Piper is still feeling enthusiastic about Annabeth and Percy despite the probably impending war.  
  
Percy picks Annabeth up right at seven, and she smiles when she sees his leather jacket. She’s used to his sweatshirts, but she has to admit that the leather jacket definitely suits him. It’s a different side to him, she surmises.  
  
“Do you have your weapons?” he asks her as he leans against the doorframe.  
  
She grins and props up her foot. “Well-concealed.”  
  
“You know, if you were any other girl I’d be terrified.”  
  
“But?”  
  
“But honestly, that’s just kind of hot.”  
  
Annabeth laughs and yanks him out of the doorway so she can lock the door. “So where’re we going?”  
  
He names a local Italian restaurant, and then adds that he was thinking maybe they could catch a movie if it’s not too late.  
  
Annabeth is all for it, and so they head down to Percy’s car.  
  
She’s been in his car a couple times, so she’s used to the slight hint of pool chlorine that comes from his swim bag, and the pile of change that rattles around in his cupholder because it never fits quite right in his wallet. He lets her control the music app, and she chooses a band they both like. They chat easily as Percy navigates the car through the streets of Blue Ridge, neither one mentioning monsters or the war. Instead they talk about classes, homework, and little things like music and hobbies. They’ve touched lightly on those topics before, but now it’s Annabeth’s chance to ask everything she’s been dying to for the last couple weeks.  
  
Has it really only been a couple weeks? It feels like forever since she first met him.  
  
She finds out he loves early 2000s pop punk, and that he was definitely a skater dude in middle school and high school. Annabeth dies a little bit inside, because every single boy she had a crush on in middle school owned a skateboard. He admits that his mom wasn’t super thrilled when he pierced his ears when he was 16, but that she was totally supportive of his tattoo. It turns out that he wants more, he just can’t afford it right now.  
  
They pull up in front of the restaurant and clamber out of the car. They head inside and are immediately seated by the hostess.  
  
Annabeth’s been to this restaurant a couple times, but it’s been awhile. It’s not a fancy place, but it’s still pretty nice. It’s perched on a hill, so from their table by the window they have a fantastic view of the town and, naturally, the college. They both order pasta dishes – Percy gets fettuccine, while Annabeth requests ravioli. Dinner is amazing, made better by the company. Percy asks about Annabeth’s childhood, keeping his questions vague enough that any passing waitstaff won’t hear the wrong thing, but trying to be specific enough so she knows what he’s wondering about. She fills him in on as much as she can, but there’s so much to talk about that they really don’t have time for that.  
  
Percy pays the bill, waving down Annabeth’s protests that they split it in half, and they head to the cinema. Annabeth can say without a doubt that the first part of the movie, a romantic action comedy, is very good. After that, she’s too busy kissing Percy to pay attention.  
  
After the movie, they stop at a nearby ice cream parlor for dessert.  
  
“So, how’d I do?” Percy asks as they sit at a table. He licks at his blueberry-vanilla ice cream cone, while Annabeth works on her bowl of salted caramel.  
  
“As far as first dates go, it’s definitely one of the better ones I’ve had.”  
  
He pouts. “Only _one_ of the better ones? Ouch. Would you like your knife back?”  
  
Annabeth laughs. “Okay, fine. This is definitely the best first date I’ve ever been on. Though to be honest, the other first dates I’ve been on were pretty lame, seeing as how we were fighting a war and when we weren’t going into battle, we were stuck at camp.”  
  
The teenager behind the counter looks as if he’s trying to figure out if this is some weird version of Dungeons and Dragons. Annabeth’s not going to correct him if that’s the conclusion he wants to draw.  
  
Percy sticks his tongue out at her. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”  
  
She grins. “Never. I will never make things easy for you.”  
  
“What the hell have I gotten myself into?”  
  
“You should’ve been asking yourself that before you asked for my number.”  
  
His jaw drops and his eyes light up with mischievousness. “Excuse me for being impressed by the super gorgeous, badass girl who just took down two Greek monsters. I’ll try to hold myself back next time. Should I try to take a selfie with the gorgon before you stab her? Make it good for the ‘gram?”  
  
Their good-natured bantering spills out onto the street as they exit the ice cream shop. Before they climb into Percy’s car, he pulls Annabeth in for one more kiss.  
  
Annabeth has to admit that this has been the most enjoyable evening she has had in a very long time. Percy drives her home and walks her up to her apartment, where he kisses her goodnight. She spins into the living room, feeling like she’s literally walking on air. She even has to glance down to make sure that her feet are planted firmly on the ground.  
  
Piper is in the kitchen, making a cup of tea. She scurries around to the living room when she hears Annabeth comes in.  
  
“So? What happened? Did he kiss you?”  
  
“Yes. He also kissed me last night,” Annabeth reveals, and Piper lets out an excited shriek.  
  
“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”  
  
“There was so much going on,” Annabeth explains apologetically. “I just didn’t really get the chance. But yeah, he kissed me after we killed the giants.”  
  
Piper squeals. “Okay, I need _details_. Tell me everything.” She grabs her cup of tea and shoves Annabeth down onto the couch, clearly ready for a gossip-fest.  
  
Annabeth happily obliges her.  
  
Piper is a very good listener. She gasps at all the right times, and squeals in excitement at all the best places. When Annabeth describes how Percy backed her up against the wall during their first kiss, Piper uses both hands to fan herself.  
  
Annabeth goes into as much detail as possible pertaining to hers and Percy’s first date. At last she falls silent, taking a sip of the cup of tea that Piper was kind enough to make her five minutes into the story.  
  
“So, when are you guys going to see each other again?” Piper asks.  
  
“We’re going to meet for coffee between classes tomorrow,” Annabeth says cheerfully. “It’s not much, but – “  
  
“It’s still something,” Piper says with a nod. She gets it. There were times back on the Argo II when sharing a bag of chips during watch counted as a date for her and Jason. It’s not about what you do, it’s about who you’re with. Annabeth had never really considered that before, but now she gets it. She’d be perfectly happy just sitting on a park bench drinking coffee with Percy. Or maybe lounging in her bed not wearing anything while watching Netflix. Really, she’s not picky.

* * *

The next couple weeks fly by. College is definitely kicking Annabeth’s ass. Throw in the weekly monster fights and trying to squeeze in time with her new boyfriend, and she’s not sure how she even has time to breathe. Thankfully, Percy is very understanding about the fact that Annabeth is busy trying to save towns from being destroyed by mythological monsters. When she has to cancel dinner at a nice restaurant one evening because there are some drunk killer centaurs on the loose at a bar a few towns over, Percy suggests he just cook them dinner. Annabeth is hesitant at first, because she’s always a mess after a monster fight, but Percy is adamant. Piper is gracious enough to let Annabeth shower first when they get back to the apartment, where Percy has steak and potatoes in the oven. Percy’s made plenty of everything, and even whips up a veggie burger for Piper while she’s showering. This forever cements Percy in Piper’s mind as the perfect guy for Annabeth, though Piper will never admit it.  
  
The next weekend, there’s an outbreak of monsters in Albany, and Annabeth’s car battery is dead, and Piper car is in the shop due to being struck with a boulder during a recent monster fight. And so Annabeth has to call Percy to see if he can give them a ride. He’s more than willing, and Annabeth and Piper are quick to shove money at him for gas.  
  
Percy parks a safe distance from where the cluster of monsters is, but he’s close enough that with binoculars he can see what’s going on. And when he realizes that Annabeth and Piper are overwhelmed (their backup never showed up, which is so typical of these particular demigods), he guns the car engine and drives right into the cluster, taking out five very stunned monsters and distracting the others long enough for Annabeth and Piper to finish them off. Annabeth has to admit, having a mortal boyfriend who can see through the Mist and can think on his feet is pretty handy at times.  
  
There are no new developments on the Forces of Chaos front, but on the bright side, the monster situation doesn’t seem to be getting _too_ much worse. In fact, three weeks after the house party, Annabeth and Piper go an entire week without fighting a single monster. The following week they only have to fight one, which is actually kind of surprising seeing as how it’s the week of Halloween, so surely the monsters should all be coming out to celebrate.  
  
But Annabeth doesn’t mind. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, which is cool and all, except that this means there’ll be parties galore. And after the last party, she’s really not into the idea of going to another one. But it turns out that it doesn’t matter. Percy’s going back to New York City for the weekend of Halloween, so Annabeth and Piper (and Jason, who decides to pop in to see how the situation is doing) end up just watching various Halloween-themed episodes of all their favorite shows while pigging out on chips and candy. Percy sends Annabeth a picture of his little sister dressed up like Captain America, and it's honestly the most adorable thing ever. Annabeth finds herself daydreaming about the day she gets to meet Percy’s family, even though she’s a little nervous about it. Okay, a lot nervous. She is, after all, the girl who keeps putting their son in danger. But Percy makes her happy, and she’s pretty sure that she makes him happy too. So it should all even itself out. Right?

* * *

With Halloween done and over with, midterms are beginning to loom up around the corner. They’re just a couple weeks away now, and all Annabeth can do is hope that the monster attacks stay minimal until she and Piper are able to get through midterm week.  
  
Naturally that’s not what happens.  
  
The monster attacks ramp up with a surprising aggressiveness, until Annabeth is literally listening to an audio recording of one of her textbooks while fighting a monster in order to study. She even recites what she’s just heard to the monster she’s locked in battle with, which usually confuses the monster. The only one who isn’t taken aback is a rather nasty sphynx Annabeth and Piper track down in Brooklyn the weekend after Halloween, and the sphynx is actually of some use. She’s read the textbook and is more than happy to clarify the finer points while attempting to sink her teeth into Annabeth’s throat. Annabeth is almost sorry to kill her.  
  
“I love _audible_ ,” she says to Piper on the train ride home from Brooklyn. “It’s going to save my ass with finals.”  
  
Piper rolls her eyes but has to bite back a smile. She knows how worried and stressed Annabeth has been. Not that Annabeth is the only one. Piper has been studying day and night, and Percy has been spending nearly all his free time in the library. However, the weekend before midterms, he asks Annabeth if she wants to join him in the city so she can meet his family.  
  
“Just for a day,” Percy says nervously, fiddling with the pen locked between his fingers. They’re in the library, and Percy had just asked Annabeth if she’d like to come back to New York City with him. “I’m only going back for Friday evening and Saturday, since, you know, midterms are next week. But I want to see my family, and they’ve been asking about you and I’d really love it if you met them. Maybe, if you guys hit it off, you could join us for Thanksgiving dinner?” His brow furrows, and Annabeth knows he’s wondering if he’s pushed too hard, too far. “Piper is more than welcome too, of course.”  
  
Annabeth smiles. “I’d love to join you in the city. I’ll take the train in Saturday morning if that’s okay.”  
  
Percy nods eagerly. “That’s perfect.”  
  
Annabeth just hopes she doesn’t meet a monster riding in on Saturday. She’d really hate to ruin the day.


	6. Save Your Breath, We're the Only Guarantee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Lucky Boys Confusion "Cigarettes". Would you believe I've been meaning to update my PJO stories since November? Because seriously, I have. I've just been sidetracked with my Merlin fic and life itself. Plus I've got another PJO WIP so that distracted me for a bit as well. It might get posted one day? Maybe?
> 
> Enjoy! 💙

Midterms fall the week before Thanksgiving, which is just as well because that means they get the whole week of Thanksgiving off. But Annabeth is more focused on getting through midterms and meeting her boyfriend’s family. As the week goes by, she becomes a bundle of nerves. She hopes Sally Jackson-Blofis will like her, but she’s not sure how any of this is going to go over. She hates to admit it, but meeting Percy’s mom is probably even more nerve whacking than facing down Gaea.  
  
Okay, no it’s not. That’s just ridiculous. But there are definitely moments when Annabeth feels like it is.  
  
“That’s because you’re getting your first real taste of what it’s like to be normal,” Piper says with a smirk when Annabeth shares how nervous she’s been feeling. “You’re meeting your boyfriend’s parents. That’s a normal step in a normal relationship, one that makes pretty much everyone anxious and terrified.”  
  
“What if she doesn’t like me?” Annabeth whimpers. And wow, she is so fucked.  
  
It’s 10pm on Friday. Annabeth and Piper have just demolished two large takeout containers of pho and a serving of fresh spring rolls. Annabeth knows she should be in bed, trying to sleep, because she’s catching the 8am train into New York City tomorrow morning and she wants to be well-rested. However, her plans for this evening changed when she and Piper got the call from Chiron that there had been a monster sighting on the interstate. This led to them doing battle with a gryphon – and then getting caught by a cop who noticed that two girls were fighting with a giant bird.  
  
After that interaction, they agreed that giant bowls of pho were definitely in order. Thank goodness for takeout.  
  
“She’s going to like you,” Piper reassures her. “How can she not? You’re Annabeth Fucking Chase. You’re amazing and incredible and Percy is so lucky to have you.”  
  
“But what if she doesn’t like me?”  
  
Piper stares up at the ceiling like she’s contemplating whether to open a bottle of wine, or go for the hard stuff. “She’s going to. Okay? It’s not your fault you’re a demigod. None of this is. And you and Percy can’t help who you’re attracted to. Deciding who you fall for isn’t a conscious choice, Annabeth. It never has been.”  
  
Annabeth sighs. She knows Piper’s right. She just wishes that the prospect of meeting Percy’s mom didn’t seem so terrifying. But then again, what about if Percy ever meets her dad? Or worse – her mom? Her mom is Athena, the freaking Goddess of Wisdom. Athena can be a little intimidating. She supposes that meeting Percy’s nice, normal family isn’t the worst thing to ever happen. And she certainly has it easier than he will if he ends up meeting her parents. But it’s still stressful. On the bright side, though, she’s finally getting a taste of what it’s like to be normal. It’s too bad that normalcy brings its own dose of pressure.  
  
Annabeth’s phone buzzes with a new text. She checks it and sees that it’s from Percy:

  
**I’m so excited for tomorrow!!! My mom and stepdad are really excited to meet you!**  
  
Annabeth smiles, even as she tries to quell the nervous churning of her stomach.  
  
She replies back, **I’m excited to meet them too :)**  
  
It’s not a lie. She is excited. Gods, she’s been hoping for this pretty much since she first met him. But that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t want to throw up.  
  
She eventually goes to bed, and when she does she tosses and turns for what feels like forever. But she finally drifts off to sleep.  
  
The next morning she’s a flurry of excitement, anxiety, and motion. She barely remembers how she manages to get to the train station on time, but she does, and in what feels like the blink of an eye the train is pulling into Grand Central Station. The good news is that she doesn’t have to kill any monsters during the train ride. The bad news is that she’s had too much free time on her hands and she’s a bundle of raw nerves by the time she disembarks from the train. She texts Percy to let him know she’s arrived, and not five seconds later she sees him pushing through the crowd, a huge smile on his face.  
  
And just like that, her nerves vanish like the sun breaking through the clouds, and she finds herself drifting over to Percy. He catches her up in his arms and kisses her deeply, right there in the middle of Grand Central Station. She kisses him back, arms wrapping around his neck and he pulls her closer. She could stay like that all day, but an announcement for an outbound train blares overhead, and they reluctantly step away from each other.  
  
Percy takes her hand and leads her through the station. Once they’re outside, he flags down a cab and gives the address for his mom and stepdad’s apartment. It’s an Upper Westside address, and about twenty minutes later the cab driver drops them off in front of a converted brownstone. Percy pays for the ride while Annabeth supplies the tip, and they clamber out of the cab. They make their way up the front steps and Percy punches in a code into the keypad beside the front door. There’s a slight clicking noise, and Percy opens the front door.  
  
“We have regular locks and stuff, too,” Percy tells Annabeth as they walk into the apartment, “but since we were expected…”  
  
She nods. At her dad’s house in San Francisco they used to leave the door unlocked if someone was home. They started locking the door and updated the alarm system after a couple of monster attacks during the second war.  
  
“Mom? Paul? We’re here!” Percy calls through the apartment. Annabeth’s nerves return in full force, and she feels like she might throw up. Percy tells Annabeth she can just set her backpack off to the side of the front door and they’ll move it later. Annabeth does so, stomach churning worse than ever.  
  
Down the hall Annabeth hears movement, and a moment later a pretty woman with dark hair and a warm smile walks out of an open door.  
  
Percy’s got her smile, Annabeth notices dimly. And her hair. But mostly her smile. Percy and Sally Jackson-Blofis both have the kind of smiles that light up an entire room and can warm you up from the inside out.  
  
“You must be Annabeth!” Sally says, her smile widening as she approaches Annabeth. She takes Annabeth’s hand in both of hers and gives it a soft squeeze. “So you’re the badass, gorgeous daughter of Athena Paul and I have been hearing so much about.” She winks at Annabeth, and Annabeth immediately feels more relaxed.  
  
“It’s really nice to meet you,” Annabeth tells Percy’s mom, managing a smile of her own. “Thank you so much for having me over.”  
  
Sally lets go of Annabeth’s hand and waves her own airily. “It’s nothing. I’ve been dying to meet you. I can’t remember the last time Percy has been so excited about a girl.”  
  
“Mo-om!” Percy whines, his cheeks shining a glorious red. “I’m amazed you didn’t meet Annabeth with my baby album. I know you’ve got some embarrassing shots of me in the bathtub.”  
  
Sally grins. “You haven’t given me a chance.”  
  
Percy whimpers as Sally tugs Annabeth down the hall into the kitchen.  
  
“I’ve got cookies in the oven,” Sally says to Annabeth. “Percy says you like double-chocolate-chip?”  
  
“I do,” Annabeth confirms.  
  
Percy leans against the kitchen counter and grins. “How do you feel about _blue_ double-chocolate-chip?”  
  
Annabeth furrows her brow. She knows Percy has an affinity for blue food. When they got smoothies the other day, he got a blueberry and cream one. She noticed his blueberry and vanilla ice cream on their first date. Honestly, she just thought he liked blueberries, but given his grin, she’s wondering if he just really likes the color.  
  
“Trust me, they taste way better when they’re blue,” Percy assures her.  
  
Annabeth shrugs. “I’m open to the idea.”  
  
“Good.” He looks at his mom. “Where’s Paul and Estelle?”  
  
“In the living room, passed out in front of _Dora the Explorer_.”  
  
“I’m not going in there,” Percy announces. “I got more than enough of that show last summer when I was babysitting Estelle. I knew it had gotten out of hand when I started screaming ‘Swiper no swiping’ when I couldn’t find my phone speakers.”  
  
Annabeth claps her hand to her mouth to try to hold back her giggles. It doesn’t work and a laugh bubbles out. Percy sticks his tongue out at her. Annabeth laughs even harder, and Sally nods with a satisfied smirk at Percy. “I like her.”  
  
“I knew you would,” Percy says in satisfaction.  
  
“I’ll go wake Paul and Estelle up so they can meet Annabeth,” Sally tells them. “I’d hate to inflict more ‘Swiper no swiping’ on you.”  
  
“Your concern for my wellbeing is overwhelming,” Percy sniffs. “I don’t know how I manage without it at school.”  
  
“I just have to make up for it when you’re home,” Sally retorts as she leaves the kitchen.  
  
Annabeth smiles at the bantering. She and her mom have never been particularly close, what with the whole wisdom-goddess thing her mom has going on. And while she loves her dad and he loves her, they never seem to be speaking the same language. And forget her stepmom. Annabeth wishes she could.  
  
She hears whining from what she guesses is the living room, and Sally gently coaxing Estelle and Paul up. A minute or so later, Sally walks back into the kitchen, a tall man with salt and pepper hair, and a little girl with Sally’s bouncy curls and blue eyes following close behind her. Annabeth knows that Estelle is 4-years-old, just old enough to begin to comprehend what is happening. And so Annabeth holds her breath when Estelle takes her in, gaze roaming from Annabeth’s hair down to her sneakers.  
  
“Hi, Estelle,” Annabeth says softly as she squats down in front of her so they’re eye-level. She’s not great with younger kids – the only ones she was ever around growing up were her half-brothers, and her stepmom got freaked out over Annabeth playing with them. Anita was always so worried that monsters would attack them, or that Annabeth’s existence would cause them to get struck by lightning. One of these days Annabeth is probably going to need therapy.  
  
Estelle blinks at her. “Hi.”  
  
“My name’s Annabeth.”  
  
“Estelle, Annabeth is a friend of mine,” Percy adds in. He steps forward, and Estelle’s attention becomes fixed on him. She lets out a delighted squeal and throws herself at her brother as if she hasn’t seen him in months, rather than a couple hours. Percy laughs and scoops her up, swinging her around. “Hello to you too.” Holding her on his hip, he swivels so that they’re facing Annabeth again.  
  
Estelle eyes Annabeth uncertainly, before burying her face in Percy’s shoulder.  
  
Sally chuckles. “She’s tired, she just woke up from a nap, and probably sooner than was wise. She was up bright and early this morning,” she adds to Annabeth. “She was so excited about having Percy here that she broke into his room and started jumping on his bed.”  
  
Annabeth grins at Percy. “That’s adorable.”  
  
“Yeah. It was especially adorable when I checked my clock and saw that it was 5am.” He adjusts his grip on Estelle. “I’ll go lay her down for a nap. Don’t eat the cookies without me.”  
  
“They’re not even out of the oven yet!” Sally calls after him.  
  
She encourages Annabeth to sit down at their kitchen table. Paul joins her, shaking her hand as well. “It’s so very nice to meet you, Annabeth,” he says to her. “I understand you’re majoring in architecture?”  
  
Annabeth nods. “I love the idea of creating something that will last forever. If you look at the pyramids, the Inca and Mayan ruins, the European castles…they’re still around. They’ve survived centuries if not millennia, and dozens of wars, including both World Wars. But they’re still standing. And they’re considered historical and cultural monuments.”  
  
Paul and Sally both smile. “Percy’s right,” Paul says with a nod. “You are passionate about architecture. That’s good. It’s an excellent career option, and the fact that you love it…I can’t even tell you how many people go into careers that they hate because they think it’ll provide financial stability. But you never have any guarantee anymore in finding a job in your field of study.”  
  
Annabeth bobs her head. She’s had this conversation with Piper dozens of times. “It’s definitely a challenge,” she agrees. “I’m hoping I’ll be able to find a job with a decent architecture firm, but who knows anymore? And I guess I have something to fall back on if I can’t,” she adds with an awkward chuckle.  
  
“Do you get paid for saving the world?” Sally asks curiously.  
  
“I get paid for quests,” Annabeth replies with a small shrug. “It’s decent payment, and they’re paying for my degree.” She doesn’t explain who _they_ are. She gets the feeling that Sally already knows.  
  
“So it’s kind of like a scholarship for saving the world,” Sally says with a chuckle.  
  
“That’s one way of looking at it.”  
  
Percy returns, just as the oven timer goes off. Sally pulls out the cookies and lets them sit on the cooling rack for a bit before she lets anyone touch them. She pours everyone a tall glass of milk.  
  
The cookies are, indeed, blue. There’s something a little odd about eating a blue chocolate chip cookie, but as Annabeth breaks a cookie in half and dips a piece into her milk, she has to admit it’s actually pretty cool. And when she bites into it, she discovers that Percy was right – it does in fact taste even better than regular cookies. She tells Sally so, and Sally beams with pride.  
  
Annabeth chats with Sally and Paul, with Percy interjecting in every few moments. He sits in the chair next to Annabeth and scoots it closer so that he can drape an arm around her. Annabeth blushes slightly – even mild PDA in front of the parental unit just seems _so weird_ – but Sally and Paul just smile and continue the conversation.  
  
Sally insists on making them lunch, and Annabeth insists on helping. She admits up front that she’s not the best at cooking, and Sally gently directs her towards chopping up vegetables for a large salad while she slaps together sandwiches.  
  
“How do you like the college?” Sally asks Annabeth as they stand at the counter together. It’s their first time together, and Annabeth is sure Sally has plenty of questions for her little boy’s girlfriend.  
  
“It’s a good school,” Annabeth replies.  
  
“Your dad works at Stanford?”  
  
“He does.”  
  
“How’d you end up at Ridgemont College?”  
  
Annabeth has to think about how to answer. “It’s only a few hours away from Camp Half-Blood, so it’s convenient. And there’s a lot of monster activity in New York, so my friends and I can go do some monster ass-kicking in our down time.”  
  
Sally nods slowly. “Do you live in a dorm?”  
  
“An apartment. With my best friend,” she adds. “Piper. She’s a daughter of Aphrodite.”  
  
“A daughter of Aphrodite? That sounds like an interesting life.”  
  
“Yeah, Piper kind of hates it. She feels like everyone underestimates her – a lot of her siblings are vapid and shallow, and Piper for the most part just doesn’t give a fuck – I mean – “ Annabeth bites her lip as she realizes she just dropped the F-bomb in front of her boyfriend’s mom.  
  
But Sally waves her worries aside. “It’s fine, you can talk however you need to. I used to work at a candy shop in Grand Central Station. Believe me, I’ve heard much worse.”  
  
Annabeth thinks about Percy’s admission about his former stepdad, and thinks that Sally has probably also experienced much worse.  
  
She looks the other woman square in the eye. “How do you really feel about Percy dating me? Given the fact that I’m a daughter of Athena and my life is one huge deadly obstacle course.”  
  
Sally smiles a little. “I was waiting for that question. Here’s the deal, Annabeth. Percy has told you about our family ‘gift’. He’s spent most of his life in danger, without the powers and extra help that most demigods get. I highly doubt you’re putting him in any more danger than he would be otherwise. And it’s nice knowing that he’s with someone who knows how to fight. I’m not worried. So far, I like you – a lot. You’re smart and ambitious, and you seem like you have a good heart. You have a sense of humor, and you can joke around with Percy. He’s happy with you. _That’s_ what I care about. Not who your mother is, not how dangerous your life is. It’s not your fault. You didn’t ask for this, just like Percy and I didn’t ask to be able to see through the Mist. It’s not your fault, Annabeth.”  
  
Annabeth wants to hug her and sob gratefully into her shoulder. She can’t remember the last time someone told her that none of this is her fault, that she’s not to blame for who her mother is or for the wars that have raged around her. It’s so damn exhausting being the hero, always having to be so tough and together and act like nothing hurts. And most days Annabeth just wants to hide and whimper and ignore the world for the next couple decades.  
  
“Thank you,” she finally whispers. “Thank you for saying that.”  
  
Sally takes Annabeth’s hand in hers. “I cannot imagine the hell you’ve already gone through. But I’m pretty good at reading people, and I can tell you’re incredibly tough and strong. And whatever is going on in the world right now, you’ll get through this.”  
  
“Fuck, I hope so.”  
  
“You will,” Sally says firmly. “You’re a survivor. That much is obvious. Now, do you prefer turkey or ham?”  
  
“Turkey, please.”  
  
Sally nods and ladens Annabeth’s sandwich with turkey and cheese.  
  
The rest of the afternoon passes by peacefully. Estelle wakes up in time for lunch, and afterwards she watches Disney movies with Percy and Annabeth, sitting in Percy’s lap and throwing wary looks at Annabeth.  
  
“She’s just shy,” Percy assures Annabeth. “And she’s not used to me bringing home girls. She’s not sure what to do. She’ll get used to you soon, I’m sure.”  
  
Annabeth nods, but she can’t help but wonder what will happen if Estelle doesn’t. What if Estelle never decides to like her? What if Estelle ends up hating her?  
  
Since they have midterms next week, they’re planning to catch an early evening train back to Blue Ridge.  
  
Sally hugs them both as they’re getting ready to leave, and tells them to take care and to study hard for midterms. They both assure her they will, and Annabeth hitches her backpack over her shoulder.  
  
“And you’ll be coming over for Thanksgiving dinner?” Sally asks Annabeth.  
  
Annabeth nods, smiling. “I believe so.”  
  
“Excellent! Percy mentioned your friend Piper may be joining us?”  
  
“I’ll have to check with Piper, but it’s possible.” She’s not actually sure what Piper’s plans are for Thanksgiving. Piper might be flying back to LA for Thanksgiving, but she also might be staying in their apartment. That’s what she did the year before. They cooked a mishmash of foods like pot stickers, macaroni and cheese, and plant-based nuggets, and drank way too much wine while binge-watching old romantic comedies. It was beautiful and sad and perfect, all at the same time. This year everything is different. And Annabeth’s not sure which way Piper is going to want to go.  
  
The cab is already waiting for them, and they climb in. Percy tells the driver they’re going to Grand Central Station, and the cab pulls away from the curb.  
  
“So, I’d say that went well,” Percy comments as Annabeth snuggles into him.  
  
“Yeah,” she says, resting her head on his shoulder. “I think it did. Your mom and stepdad are really nice.”  
  
“Do you think Piper will be up for joining us for Thanksgiving?”  
  
“I’ll text her.” She pulls her phone out of her backpack and shoots a text to Piper: **You want to spend Thanksgiving with Percy, me, and his family in NYC?**  
  
She responds a couple minutes later: **sure sounds fun**.  
  
Annabeth shows the text to Percy with a smile. “I guess she’s in.”  
  
He kisses the top of her head. “I guess so.”

* * *

The next week passes in a flash of stress and sweat and crying. Midterms are harsh, but somehow Annabeth, Piper, and Percy manage to get through the week. And they can just dimly see the light at the end of the tunnel – Thanksgiving break.  
  
On Friday evening, Percy invites Annabeth to see a movie with his friends Frank and Hazel. The offer is extended to Piper, who accepts. Annabeth’s secretly relieved about this; she hasn’t met Frank and Hazel yet. They weren’t at the Stoll brothers’ party, and since Hazel and Frank are both studying criminal justice, their paths haven’t crossed in classes.  
  
Annabeth and Piper agree to meet the others outside the cinema, and so at 7:30 they leave their apartment and drive to the movie theater. Annabeth parks the car and they climb out. Percy is standing in line with a big guy with buzz-cut black hair and a petite girl with dark curly hair. They’re joking and laughing together, and Annabeth has to pause for a moment to watch Percy throw his head back in amusement.  
  
And then his gaze meets hers, and her stomach swoops. It’s ridiculous, she thinks, that she still gets nervous and excited when she sees him. Is it always going to be like this? A part of her hopes so.  
  
He smiles, and reaches out to take her hand. “Frank, Hazel, this is Annabeth, and her roommate, Piper.”  
  
“Hi!” Hazel says, smiling brightly at the other two girls. “It’s great to meet you guys!”  
  
“You too,” Annabeth tells her.  
  
Frank waves shyly at Annabeth and Piper. “We’ve heard a lot about you,” he says to Annabeth, which causes Percy to poke Frank teasingly in the ribs.  
  
“All good, I hope,” Annabeth replies.  
  
“Very good,” Hazel assures her, before turning to Piper. “I love your earrings!”  
  
Piper fingers her dangling wolf earrings. “Thanks,” she says with a smile. “I really like yours. So elegant.”  
  
Hazel beams and strikes up a conversation about this quirky little jewelry shop on Long Island it turns out they’ve both been to. Annabeth chats with Percy and Frank as the line moves forward, and before any of them know it it’s time to get their tickets.  
  
Percy buys the tickets even as the others protest, and they head into the cinema. Snacks are purchased by the armload at the concession counter, before continuing onto their theater gate.  
  
The movie is an action comedy they’ve all wanted to see, and Annabeth is definitely enjoying herself. She’s got her popcorn and diet Coke, and Percy’s arm is tucked snuggly around her. Piper is on her other side, with Hazel and Frank taking up the seats on Percy’s left.  
  
The theater is definitely crowded. Some wannabe-frat boys are sitting in the row in front of them, and some preteen girls are sitting behind them. Piper is stuck next to yet another couple who seem more intent on shoving their tongues down each other’s throats than watching the movie.  
  
Annabeth tosses some popcorn into her mouth and rolls her eyes at the couple, before focusing on the movie again. She laughs at a pratfall, and the frat boys in front of her turn around to stare at her. She stares back. Her sight is suddenly a bit fuzzy, like her vision is trying to adjust.  
  
Percy is suddenly sitting straight up; his face is deathly pale, and his hand is gripping Annabeth’s.  
  
She knows in that moment that these aren’t normal people, and that the reason her vision is fuzzy is because her brain is trying to force through the illusion. She grits her teeth and focuses – the frat boys aren’t Laistrygonian Giants, which is the only good news about this. They’re still huge and lumbering, with a single eye in the center of their forehead.  
  
Cyclops. In a movie theater in an upstate New York college town.  
  
What is this world coming to?  
  
Cyclops, as a rule of thumb, don’t eat regular humans. But they sure as hell won’t say no to some tasty demigod, even if they are a little bit older. Which means Annabeth and Piper are both in danger.  
  
Annabeth nudges Piper’s arm, and Piper looks around. She blinks at the cyclops a couple times, letting her eyes adjust. Then she glances at the couple making out right next to her and shrugs. “Ah, what the hell.”  
  
Annabeth turns to Percy, not sure how to explain to him that he needs to send his friends on their way. But instead he hisses at them, “Monster in the house, monster in the house!”  
  
This seems like an odd way of explaining things.  
  
Frank and Hazel both look around, and their gazes rest on the cyclops. Then they glance over at Annabeth and Piper.  
  
“Can they see – ?” Frank begins quietly, jerking his thumb at the two girls.  
  
Percy grins sheepishly. “About that. It’s a funny story.”  
  
It’s obvious that Frank and Hazel can both see through the Mist, same as Percy. Maybe that’s even how they became friends. Annabeth figures they’ll clear up the mystery later. Instead she says, “I’m a daughter of Athena, and Piper is a daughter of Aphrodite.”  
  
“Cool,” Hazel says. “Let’s kick some cyclops ass.”  
  
That’s the kind of positivity Annabeth likes to hear. Even though she’s opposed to regular mortals fighting monsters, she has to admit that, like Percy, Frank and Hazel are kind of badass. They’re fast, strong, and they don’t balk when the cyclops start ripping up seats straight from the floor. The other movie-goers get out of there faster than Annabeth can blink.  
  
A quick fight ensues, during which cyclops are kicked, punched, stabbed, and pelted with popcorn. Piper even splashes her soda in one cyclops’ eye. Apparently chemically-sweetened carbonated liquid is really bad for cyclops, because this one ends up walking right through the movie screen.  
  
In the end, the theater is essentially destroyed, but the cyclops are dead. Annabeth decides to call this a win.  
  
Plus, Hazel suggests they go out for ice cream afterwards to celebrate, and really, how can you get any better than that?

* * *

The next morning Percy catches the train back to New York City to spend the week with his family. On Wednesday morning, Annabeth and Piper join the Jackson-Blofis’ at their apartment. Annabeth isn’t sure how the sleeping arrangements are going to work. Sally and Paul’s apartment is large, with four bedrooms, one of which serves as a guest room, and she figures she and Piper will just share. After all, she and Percy haven’t slept together yet (unfortunately), and she doubts Sally will be comfortable with her sleeping in Percy’s bed.  
  
It turns out that Sally’s decided to leave the decision up to them. “I don’t care, as long as you’re all comfortable,” she announces.   
  
Annabeth decides Sally Jackson-Blofis is just about the coolest mom ever.  
  
“I’m taking the guest room,” Piper announces with a wicked smirk in Annabeth’s direction. “You can share with Percy.”  
  
Percy doesn’t look like he minds the sleeping arrangements, and even though Annabeth’s face feels as though it’s on fire, she’s not complaining either.  
  
She’s not sure what’s going to happen over Thanksgiving break, but she knows she’s definitely looking forward to finding out.  
  



End file.
